Researchers work to improve fuel cells for cars

IEEE Spectrum : Several research groups are experimenting with different materials and methods for converting solar energy to hydrogen fuel. One team at the University of California, Berkeley, has been working on improving the efficiency of its photoelectrochemical cell (PEC) by mixing different materials, one to absorb sunlight and the other to conduct electricity. The Berkeley researchers have found some success by coating the titanium dioxide nanowires in the photoanode with bismuth vanadate but are continuing to experiment to find a combination that works even better. A group at Duke University is trying to come up with a fuel, such as methanol or ethanol, that is easier to use, transport, and store than hydrogen, which they could then convert to hydrogen right at the fuel cell. And researchers at Nanyang Technical University in Singapore are working to improve the semiconductor photoelectrode in a PEC through the manufacture of artificial opals, which are natural photonic crystals, to capture a wider sample of the solar spectrum.