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Spinoff story
Photocatalytic Water Splitter Stores Energy as Hydrogen
A real-world story of NASA technology finding a life beyond the mission.
About this technology
Overview
When titania is exposed to ultraviolet light, it becomes a photocatalyst to split water into hydrogen and oxygen. Only 4 percent of sunlight, however, is ultraviolet. Under two SBIR contracts with Ames Research Center, Nanoptek Corp., based in Concord, Massachusetts, grew titania crystals with such surface tension that they became responsive to 29 percent of total sunlight. Nanoptek_s photocatalytic panels convert energy to stored hydrogen, representing the first electrolyzer to be competitive with batteries.