New nanoarchitecture generates hydrogen

During photosynthesis, plants split water into hydrogen ions and oxygen. If researchers could devise a method to mimic nature, the hydrogen could provide a carbon-neutral energy source. A significant challenge to implementing such a technology is developing a system that separates the electrons and the positively charged holes; otherwise, the hydrogen and oxygen could react back into water. Researchers led by Jacek Stolarczyk of Ludwig-Maximilians University Munich and Frank Würthner of the University of Würzburg may have overcome the difficulty by introducing two intermediaries—an oxidation catalyst and platinum particles—to a novel semiconducting nanorod.