JERUSALEM, Feb. 20 (Xinhua) -- Israeli and Italian researchers have developed an efficient process for producing hydrogen and other products, utilizing solar energy, the northern Israel Institute of Technology said Thursday.
For decades, hydrogen has been considered the future fuel, because its burning only releases energy and water and does not pollute the environment.
Most of the hydrogen is produced from natural gas in a pollutant process, but there is an alternative process of photocatalysis: splitting water into hydrogen and oxygen through sunlight.
In this process, sunlight is absorbed by semiconductor particles that produce negative charges, producing hydrogen, and positive charges, which produce oxygen.
In a study published in the journal Nano Energy, researchers from the Technion and the University of Bologna presented a creative solution, using unique particles that effectively utilize both positive and negative charge.
Thus, the team developed a hydrogen production process, in which benzaldehyde compound, used in the food, paint, plastics and cosmetics industries, is produced instead of oxygen.
"The efficiency of energy conversion in the new process sets a new world record in the field of particle-based photocatalysis", the researchers said.
