ARTIFICIAL LEAF

By:
    Surya Narayanan CS
  
What is artificial leaf ?
•Artificial leaf, silicon-based device that uses solar energy
to split hydrogen and oxygen in water, thereby producing
hydrogen energy in a clean way, leaving virtually no
pollutants.

•A widely-used gas that is currently produced from fossil  Daniel G. Nocera

fuels can instead be made by an 'artificial leaf'  which could Father of
Artificial leaf
eventually be used to develop a sustainable liquid fuel technology
alternative to gasoline.
 Structure of the Leaf
 The artificial leaf consists of semiconductors stacked together
in a way that resembles a natural leaf system.

 Semiconductors such as silicon or gallium arsenide absorb

light efficiently and are therefore used in this device.

 The ultra-thin wireless device mimics plant leaves to produce

energy using water and sunlight.
 Reactions on the leaf
Reaction at anode: (oxidation)

                        4H2O   ->   4H + 4e- + O2

At the anode of the cell, a proton passing membrane used to separate

the proton from the electron in the hydrogen fuel.

                         2H2    ->   4H + 4e-

Reaction at cathode: (reduction)

At the cathode of the cell, a second catalyst(nickel) is used

to recombine the protons, electrons, and oxygen atoms to form water.

                          4H+ + 4e-   ->  2H2

Overall reaction:
                          2H2O  -> 2H2 + O2 + 4e-
WORKING OF THE LEAF:
When artificial leaf placed in a container of water and exposed to sunlight It
quickly begins to generate two streams of bubbles:

               1.Oxygen bubbles

               2.Hydrogen bubbles

These bubbles are collected and stored; former used as a component in green
fuel cell.
Advantages of Artificial-leaf:
 It can store energy in the chemical form that is the great advantage of this device
over the solar panels which we use now a days. 

 Inexpensive

 By products are eco friendly

 These artificial leaves can help the pharmaceutical industry become more
sustainable. 

 Surprisingly, some of the catalysts we’ve developed for use in the artificial leaf
device heal themselves. They are a kind of living catalyst.
Disadvantage of the leaf :
The only possible disadvantage of artificial leaf is that the
materials may corrode when placed in water for a long time.

This Photo by Unknown author is licensed under CC BY.

Recent Research:
Tata’s dream come true: Tata’s dream come true Ratan Tata has earlier
expressed his desire to build a car that runs on water through this technology.
He has already invested $15 million for supporting research in this field. The
product is slated to hit the market after 18 months.
Conclusion:

 One can envision villages in India and other countries not long from now
purchasing an affordable basic power system based on this technology.

 Our goal is to make each home its own power station.

This Photo by Unknown author is licensed under CC BY-SA-NC.