University of Michigan researchers have developed a new type of solar panel that could lower the cost of sustainable hydrogen production using a semiconductor that is 100 times smaller than chips used in past solar-to-hydrogen efforts.
The process was capable of converting 9% of solar energy into hydrogen, which is nearly 10 times more efficient than similar solar water-splitting experiments, the U-M researchers say in a Jan. 4 article published on the university website.
“The reason we can substantially reduce the semiconductor size is to use highly concentrated sunlight,” says Zetian Mi, U-M professor of electrical and computer engineering who led the study.
This was made possible by using gallium nitride semiconductor nanostructures, which in previous studies have demonstrated self-healing properties during a harsh photocatalysis reaction.
“Conventional semiconductor photocatalyst materials quickly degrade under such harsh conditions,” Mi says.
The team is looking to further improve the efficiency of the process and achieve ultrahigh purity hydrogen that can be directly fed into fuel cells.
In recent years, clean hydrogen production has become an increasing focus of the chemical industry for use as both an energy source and feedstock.