Japanese scientists from the University of Tokyo have developed a new type of hydrogel that can produce hydrogen and oxygen by breaking down water molecules using sunlight. The development was towards creating materials for artificial photosynthesis. The study was published in the scientific journal magazine Chemical Communications (ChemComms).
The developed hydrogel was filled with functional molecules such as ruthenium complexes and platinum nanoparticles. They are structured using polymer networks.
This design significantly increased the efficiency of the water splitting process and enabled the production of larger volumes of hydrogen compared to known methods.
“The biggest challenge was figuring out how to arrange these molecules so that they could transfer electrons smoothly. Using a polymer network, we were able to prevent them from sticking together, which remains a common problem in synthetic photosynthesis systems,” says study co-author Professor Kosuke Okeyoshi.
Scientists say the new hydrogel has significant implications for clean energy because producing hydrogen from water using sunlight provides a renewable alternative to fossil fuels.
Previous researchers taught Play jelly video games.
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Source: Gazeta
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