Artificial Leaf Turns Water into Energy for Cheap

[woo me with science]

http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2382747,00.asp

March 29, 2011

Artificial Leaf Turns Water into Energy for Cheap
By Peter Pachal


Researchers at MIT have created an artificial leaf that they say can generate energy 10 times more efficiently than actual plants. The tiny solar cell is also said to be made out of inexpensive materials and, with sufficient water, could power an entire house.

Dr. Daniel Nocera led a team of chemists to create a tiny solar cell that mimics and improves upon regular photosynthesis. The "leaf," which is about the size of a credit card (and looks nothing like a leaf, apparently), takes water and separates it into oxygen and hydrogen, which can then be used as an energy source.

"A practical artificial leaf has been one of the Holy Grails of science for decades," Nocera says in a press release. "We believe we have done it."

Nocera's solar cell isn't the first artifical leaf, but it's has three things that make it stand out: it's made out of inexpensive materials that are widely available, it works simply, and its output doesn't quickly degrade. All those factors make the tech decidedly more practical than previous stabs at artificial photsynthetic power sources, and Nocera hopes his team's invention will become a go-to energy source for the third world, where it could provide a house with all-day power on just one gallon of water.

(more at link)

[sakabatou]

1. DO WANT

[The Doctor.]

2. Very cool.

We have so many options on the horizon. Perhaps the energy crash won't be as bad as I thought.