Si/GaN Device can Help Accelerate Commercialization of Hydrogen Fuel Cells
About three years ago,
researchers from the University of Michigan had identified a new artificial photosynthesis device composed of silicon and gallium nitride (Si/GaN).
Guosong Zeng, a postdoctoral scholar in Berkeley Lab’s Chemical Sciences Division, at work testing an artificial photosynthesis device made of gallium nitride. Zeng, along with Berkeley Lab staff scientist Francesca Toma, discovered that the device improves with use. Image Credit: Thor Swift/Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory.
This device uses solar light to produce carbon-free hydrogen for fuel cells with double the stability and efficiency of some former technologies.
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IMAGE: Guosong Zeng, a postdoctoral scholar in Berkeley Lab s Chemical Sciences Division, at work testing an artificial photosynthesis device made of gallium nitride. Zeng, along with Berkeley Lab staff scientist Francesca. view more
Credit: Thor Swift/Berkeley Lab
Three years ago, scientists at the University of Michigan discovered an artificial photosynthesis device made of silicon and gallium nitride (Si/GaN) that harnesses sunlight into carbon-free hydrogen for fuel cells with twice the efficiency and stability of some previous technologies.
Now, scientists at the Department of Energy s (DOE s) Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) - in collaboration with the University of Michigan and Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) - have uncovered a surprising, self-improving property in Si/GaN that contributes to the material s highly efficient and stable performance in converting light and water into carbon-free hydrogen. Their findings,