A solar paint is developed that generates hydrogen from the moisture it absorbs

A paint that adsorbs solar energy and water vapour to turn it into hydrogen? It sounds like a product of the imagination, but Australian scientists are about to open up this route for producing hydrogen, the cleanest energy source there is. The secret? A newly created compound that emulates and improves on the properties of silicon. Specifically, according to the research team at Australia’s RMIT University, the new material is a synthetic molybdenum sulphide. This substitute has the same virtues as a bag of silica gel for absorbing moisture from food, medicines or electronic equipment, but it adds another advantage: its quality as a semiconductor and catalyst, which allows it to absorb water vapour and turn it into hydrogen. By mixing this compound with titanium oxide, a pigment widely used in paint, the researchers found that the product “led them to a paint that produces hydrogen using only solar energy and moisture from the air”. This is explained by the project leader, Torben Daeneke, who highlights what an achievement this represents: “simply adding a material turns a brick wall into an energy harvester and a fuel producer”. The system delivers results almost anywhere, even in places far from water and in dry areas with high temperatures. The only requirement is that there be water vapour, according to the researchers, who see in this invention “a wide range of advantages” since it does not need clean or filtered water to power the system. “It is an extraordinary concept: producing fuel from the sun and the water vapour in the air,” says Koroush Kalantar-Zadeh, another of the drivers of this innovation. It could broaden the production of hydrogen, considered by experts to be the cleanest energy source, which is also suitable for use as an alternative fuel for conventional combustion engines, among many other possible applications.

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Source: ecoinventos.com