Converting Solar Energy into Fuel

In this photo, Brookhaven scientist Dmitry Polyansky examines a vial containing a specialized catalyst designed to help convert solar energy into fuel. Producing clean-burning hydrogen fuel from just sunlight and water requires custom-built catalysts for water oxidation -- the part of the water-splitting process that generates oxygen atoms. A tiny amount of the solid catalyst, developed in collaboration with the University of Houston, dissolves and turns the water that lovely shade of blue.  Image: Brookhaven National Laboratory  Date taken: 2013-05-09 13:00