Scientists at Tokyo Institute of Technology (Tokyo Tech) have developed a hybrid material constructed from a metal oxide nanosheet and a light-absorbing molecule for splitting water molecules (H 2 O) to obtain hydrogen (H 2 ) under sunlight. The research team led by Kazuhiko Maeda at Tokyo Tech developed a new photocatalyst consisting of nanoscale metal oxide sheets and a ruthenium dye molecule, which works according to a mechanism similar to dye-sensitized solar cells. While metal oxides that are photocatalytically active for overall water splitting into H 2 andO 2 O2 have wide band gaps, dye-sensitized oxides can utilize visible light, the main component of sunlight. The new photocatalyst is capable of generating H 2 from water with a turnover frequency of 1,960 per hour and an external quantum yield of 2.4%. Dye-sensitized H 2 evolution using a wide-gap metal oxide. Credit: Tokyo Tech These results are the highest […]