" That means research done by us, we use just sunlight and water, " Nocera said in a recent documentary for GE Focus Forward.
Hydrogen fuel cells are one of the most promising developments in renewable energy because it does not emit greenhouse gases and emit only water vapor. However, they were not adopted easily for a simple reason: even if the hydrogen molecule is the most abundant in our solar system, it is very difficult to isolate. The most common method is to harvest hydrogen from fossil fuels, which made it difficult to imagine the use of cells as a clean source of renewable energy.
Artificial Leaf is being developed to solve this problem. Although the name evokes an image of a device that looks like leaves that are found in nature, artificial leaf is known for its function, not form. Made of silicone and metal, it retains water and, with the help of the Sun, converts it into hydrogen and oxygen. But even if it does not look like a leaf, scientists use clues from the natural process of photosynthesis to create the device.
The latest advancement in this area involves a closer look at what is happening in natural photosynthesis, where plants oxidize water.
"Initially, our artificial leaf does not work very well, and our studies have shown that up to a rapid chemical reaction had to interact with a slow chemical reaction has not been proven effective," says Professor of Chemistry Thomas Moore. " The faster the pace in which light energy is converted into chemical energy, and the slower is the stage in which chemical energy is used to convert water into its elements – hydrogen and oxygen. "
To solve this problem, researchers have sought indices in nature and found that nature has used an intermediate step. It involved a relay, an essential pathway for the electrons to move. Researchers have found that using this relay was divided equally between rapid pace and slow pace, allowing both steps to be processed effectively.
They were then able to design an artificial relay 's function and analyzed using advanced imaging techniques to show how matter and energy interacted. Understanding these complex processes has allowed them to develop a functional and optimized artificial leaf .
"I'm sure the world will be using customized energy in the future," said Nocera. " My only question is, how much and howmuch the people wants this ? "
5 reasons why you can become an Add-Energy Renewable Romania PARTNER
To register your Company as ADD ENERGY PARTNER , please access 
For other informations click to 