Commericalised solar energy use in the US spiked 33% in 2014, thanks to soaring solar industry expansion. Its applications are becoming more widespread as the world moves to a cleaner energy future. But, the challenge facing researchers to-date has been mastering efficient capture and storage of solar power. However, researchers at Stanford University recently found that ordinary metal oxides, such as rust, can be made into solar cells capable of splitting water into hydrogen and oxygen. "Using solar cells to split H2O by day is a way to store energy for use at night. The photons captured by the cell are converted into the electrons that provide the energy to split water," according to a Stanford News release. "Recombining hydrogen and oxygen after dark would be a way to reclaim that energy and "dispatch" power back into the electrical grid - without burning fossil fuels and releasing more carbon into the atmosphere." The study is published in Energy & Environmental Science, ref: DOI: 10.1039/C6EE00036C
