Discovery of an Unexpected Boost for Solar Water-Splitting Cells
Wednesday, April 22, 2009 - 16:28
in Physics & Chemistry
(PhysOrg.com) -- A research team from Northeastern University and the National Institute of Standards and Technology has discovered, serendipitously, that a residue of a process used to build arrays of titania nanotubes -a residue that wasn`t even noticed before this - plays an important role in improving the performance of the nanotubes in solar cells that produce hydrogen gas from water. Their results, published online on March 27, 2009 in the Journal of Materials Chemistry, indicate that by controlling the deposition of potassium on the surface of the nanotubes, engineers can achieve significant energy savings in a promising new alternate energy system.