Self-healing semiconductor withstands light equal to 160 suns to produce hydrogen

“In the end, we believe that artificial photosynthesis devices will be much more efficient than natural photosynthesis, which will provide a path toward carbon neutrality,” said Zetian Mi, U-M professor of electrical and computer engineering.The team behind the study, led by Mi, was able to shrink the size of the semiconductor, typically the most expensive part of the device, and developed a self-healing semiconductor that can withstand concentrated light equivalent to 160 suns. Peng Zhou uses a large lens to concentrate sunlight onto the water-splitting catalyst. Outdoors, the device was ten times more efficient than previous efforts at solar water splitting.This technology has the potential to significantly decrease the cost of sustainable hydrogen, which is needed for many chemical processes and can be used as a standalone fuel or as a component in sustainable fuels made with…

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