I felt like we needed some not depressing news: Whole new way to split water into O and H2 - Polidicks

[QUOTE]ScienceDaily (Nov. 12, 2012) — Using the power of the sun and ultrathin films of iron oxide (commonly known as rust), Technion-Israel Institute of Technology researchers have found a novel way to split water molecules into hydrogen and oxygen. The breakthrough, published this week in Nature Materials, could lead to less expensive, more efficient ways to store solar energy in the form of hydrogen-based fuels. This could be a major step forward in the development of viable replacements for fossil fuels. “Our approach is the first of its kind,” says lead researcher Associate Prof. Avner Rothschild, of the Department of Materials Science and Engineering. “We have found a way to trap light in ultrathin films of iron oxide that are 5,000 times thinner than typical office paper. This is the enabling key to achieving high efficiency and low cost. ” Iron oxide is a common semiconductor material, inexpensive to produce, stable in water, and – unlike other semiconductors such as silicon – can oxidize water without itself being oxidated, corroded, or decomposed. But it also presents challenges, the greatest of which was finding a way to overcome its poor electrical transport properties. Researchers have struggled for years with the tradeoff between light absorption and the separation and collection of photogenerated charge carriers before they die out by recombination. “Our light-trapping scheme overcomes this tradeoff, enabling efficient absorption in ultrathin films wherein the photogenerated charge carriers are collected efficiently,” says Prof. Rothschild. “The light is trapped in quarter-wave or even deeper sub-wavelength films on mirror-like back reflector substrates. Interference between forward- and backward-propagating waves enhances the light absorption close to the surface, and the photogenerated charge carriers are collected before they die off." The breakthrough could make possible the design of inexpensive solar cells that combine ultrathin iron oxide photoelectrodes with conventional photovoltaic cells based on silicon or other materials to produce electricity and hydrogen. According to Prof. Rothschild, these cells could store solar energy for on demand use, 24 hours per day. This is in strong contrast to conventional photovoltaic cells, which provide power only when the sun is shining (and not at night or when it is cloudy). The findings could also be used to reduce the amount of extremely rare elements that the solar panel industry uses to create the semiconductor material in their second-generation photovoltaic cells. The Technion team’s light trapping method could save 90% or more of rare elements like Tellurium and Indium, with no compromise in performance.[/QUOTE] Cool [URL="http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/11/121112095943.htm"]http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/11/121112095943.htm[/URL]

Thanks for that

Interesting.

Dumbass scientists. Just lie the water on a table and split it with a knife

Implement this into a hydrogen fuel cell, and we've got a recipe for both affordable water-powered vehicles and potentially, with a bit of retweaking, advanced chemical rocketry. Who woulda thought that rusty nanowafers would be so useful? Still, beta is probably still beta, and this tech likely has a ways to go yet before the Oil Barons try to shoot it down with their tar-shooting dick cannons. Also, if this tech takes off, iron woulda likely have a sudden increase in value. Also also, Dah-thla raises a good point; this could also have a good impact on rebreather tech, so long as the oxygen goes the right way and the hydrogen doesn't acidify the surrounding water. Can bubbling hydrogen through water potentially produce hydronium ions, or is there a different process that does that?

Maybe we can get those things like in guild wars 2 that let you breathe underwater. [img]http://www.blogcdn.com/massively.joystiq.com/media/2011/06/gw2-underwater.jpg[/img] A man can dream can't he?

It feels like nowadays you can take any material, make it ultra thin or small, and suddenly it becomes magic. Nevertheless awesome news.

[QUOTE=Dah-thla;38423081]Maybe we can get those things like in guild wars 2 that let you breathe underwater. A man can dream can't he?[/QUOTE] Eh, turning oceans into pools of hydrogen doesn't exactly seem like a good idea to me. [QUOTE=SweetSwifter;38423098]It feels like nowadays you can take any material, make it ultra thin or small, and suddenly it becomes magic. Nevertheless awesome news.[/QUOTE] nanotech maaaan

Nanotech is indeed awesome. Just imagine what picotech's gonna bring, though.

[QUOTE=ironman17;38423177]Nanotech is indeed awesome. Just imagine what picotech's gonna bring, though.[/QUOTE] Picotech already exists. It's called "chemistry".

Femtotechnology is where it's at.

[QUOTE=Zezibesh;38424091]Femtotechnology is where it's at.[/QUOTE] planck length

I usually just pull the oxygen apart.

BrHONClIF, Oxygen travels as O2. To keep with Diatomic molecules it should be 2H2 and O2

This is a great find, if hydrogen really does replace fossil fuels it would finally give us a good reason to stay on Mars. We would settle the poles, melt the ice, divide the water, use the hydrogen as fuel and the oxygen for breathing.

[QUOTE=ElectroMagnet;38429065]This is a great find, if hydrogen really does replace fossil fuels it would finally give us a good reason to stay on Mars. We would settle the poles, melt the ice, divide the water, use the hydrogen as fuel and the oxygen for breathing.[/QUOTE] You would need a lot of sunlight. And I'm guessing the poles of mars don't get a lot of the good stuff.