Guwahati Oct 25 PTI Indian Institute of Technology-Guwahati researchers are developing cost-efficient materials to generate energy-rich hydrogen from water using sunlight leading to cost-effective solar-powered hydrogen generators Pursuant of worldwide efforts in developing clean and renewable energy the IIT-G researchers are developing novel materials that can use sunlight to split water into hydrogen and oxygen said a release from the Institute on Monday These materials are much cheaper than the noble metals currently used and could lead to cost-effective solar-powered hydrogen generators stated the release On the area of research for the team from the Department of Chemistry at IIT Guwahati led by Dr Mohammad Qureshi it said besides the commonly known solar cells converting light directly into electrical energy there is another type of sunlight-powered energy conversion system called PhotoElectroChemical PEC that directly produce fuels in combination of electrical energy PEC cells use solar energy to split simple and safe compounds such as water into hydrogen and oxygen hydrogen being a high-energy fuel that can be stored and used as needed the release said These cells are therefore considered the Holy Grail to a carbon-free hydrogen economy it added The IIT-G research team has reported their recent findings in the prestigious peer-reviewed Journal of Physical Chemistry Letters of the American Chemical Society The paper has been co-authored by Prof Mohammad Qureshi and Suhaib Alam Elaborating the importance of this research Dr Qureshi Professor in Department of Chemistry IIT Guwahati said despite the promise PEC cells are not yet a practical solution to the energy crisis because of the scientific bottlenecks such as the sluggishness of the water-oxidation process Catalysts are used to activate the water-splitting process but these catalysts are expensive metals such as platinum iridium and ruthenium among others which render the cells impractical The team at IIT Guwahati has developed non-noble metal catalysts that are as good as the expensive metals in splitting water in PEC cells said Dr Qureshi PTI ESB RG RG

New Delhi Oct 25 PTI Researchers at the Indian Institute of Technology IIT Guwahati are developing cost-effective novel materials that can use sunlight to split water into hydrogen and oxygenWith hydrogen being a clean high-energy fuel that can be stored and used as needed the development can lead to a carbon-free hydrogen economyThe findings have been published in the prestigious peer-reviewed Journal of Physical Chemistry Letters published by the American Chemical SocietyAccording to the research team worldwide efforts in developing clean energy have been propelled by the ever-increasing need for energy accompanied by the dwindling reserve of fossil fuels which are also harmful for the environmentSince the discovery of the photovoltaic effect by Edmond Becquerel in 1839 conversion of solar energy into electrical power or chemical fuel has captured the interest and imagination of scientists Solar energy is considered the most promising of the clean and renewable energy today said Mohammad Qureshi a professor at IIT Guwahatis chemistry departmentThe commonly known solar cells convert light directly into electrical energy There is another type of sunlight-powered energy conversion system called PhotoElectroChemical PEC cells that have elicited attention in recent times due to their direct production of fuels in combination with electrical energy he saidQureshi explained that PEC cells use solar energy to split simple and safe compounds such as water into hydrogen and oxygenWith hydrogen being a high-energy fuel that can be stored and used as needed these cells are therefore considered the Holy Grail of a carbon-free hydrogen economyDespite the promise PEC cells are not yet a practical solution to the energy crisis because of scientific bottlenecks such as the sluggishness of the water-oxidation processCatalysts are used to activate the water-splitting process These catalysts are expensive metals such as platinum iridium and ruthenium among others which render the cells impractical Qureshi saidWe have developed a ternary catalyst that comprises cobalt-tin layered double hydroxides and bismuth vanadate which forms a p-n junction semiconductor with graphene bridges We have shown that the catalyst when used as a photoanode can split water easily to produce hydrogen and oxygen he addedAnother member of the research team Suhaib Alam explained that when light falls on the anode of a PEC cell negatively charged electrons and positively charged holes are generated excitonsIn the absence of a catalyst the thermodynamic barrier will be very high to overcome hence cannot split the water into hydrogen and oxygen We are now in the process of developing a prototype device to test their photoanode in practical PEC cells Alam added PTI GJS GJS NSD NSD NSD