Researchers have developed an electrically conductive film that can aid devices having the ability to use sunlight and split water into hydrogen fuel.

Study’s co-author Nathan Lewis of the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) said, “We have developed a new type of protective coating that enables a key process in the solar-driven production of fuels to be performed with record efficiency, stability and effectiveness”.

The system also ensures safety and does not lead to the production of hazardous mixtures of hydrogen and oxygen. The researchers affirmed that the development is a significant one and could lead to the efficient artificial photosynthetic systems, which are also known as solar-fuel generators or artificial leaves.

They have the capacity to convert sunlight, water and carbon dioxide into oxygen and fuels in the form of carbohydrates. The new development comprise of two electrodes - a photoanode and a photocathode and a membrane.

The former electrode utilizes sunlight to form oxygen gas, protons and electrons. The latter one uses the protons and electrons to form hydrogen gas. Use of membrane is two keep the two gases separate in order to avoid any chance of explosion.

In the new research, the scientists have experimented to come up with protective coatings for these electrodes. Lewis said that coatings should be able to perform many functions, like it should be chemically compatible with the semiconductor, impermeable to water, electrically conductive and highly transparent to incoming light.

A protective layer that has any of these features would be considered to be a significant advancement. For now, they have discovered a material that can perform all these things at one time only. The researchers affirmed that there are many steps in the system that needs to be perfected.

The new development has made researchers to be closer to come up with a new renewable source of energy using artificial photosynthesis.