The scientists unveiled their breakthrough at the 241st National Meeting of the American Chemical Society in Anaheim, California (US).
“The artificial leaf shows particular promise as an inexpensive source of electricity for homes of the poor in developing countries,” said MIT’s Daniel Nocera, who led the research.
“Our goal is to make each home its own power station. One can envision villages in India and Africa not long from now purchasing an affordable basic power system based on this technology,” he said.
The device bears no resemblance to Mother Nature's counterparts on oaks, maples and other green plants. The “artificial leaf” is a thin sheet of metal, electronics and catalysts about the size of a credit card. When placed in a gallon of water in direct sunlight Nocera said this device could create enough electricity to power a home in the developing world.
Nocera’s team have been able to develop a product that can be made from readily available materials — this device is uses catalysts made from nickel, silicon and cobalt which are capable of splitting water into hydrogen and oxygen which can then be used to create electricity.
Nocera pointed out that the "artificial leaf" is not a new concept. The first artificial leaf was developed more than a decade ago by John Turner of the U.S. National Renewable Energy Laboratory in Golden, Colorado.
Although highly efficient at carrying out photosynthesis, Turner's device was impractical for wider use, as it was composed of rare, expensive metals and was highly unstable — with a lifespan of barely one day.
The new leaf overcomes these problems. It is made of inexpensive materials that are widely available, works under simple conditions and is highly stable. In laboratory studies, researchers showed that an artificial leaf prototype could operate continuously for at least 45 hours without a drop in activity.
Nocera has founded a company called Sun Catalytix which is working on the development of this technology — specifically on ways to store the power of the sun so it can be used around the clock so electricity is always available.
The Indian Tata group has recently signed an agreement with Nocera to help them commercialise this discovery.
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