Pesquisando por: "Titanium, atomic structure" - Fotoarena - Agência de fotojornalismo

20250408_zaf_x99_114 SHENYANG, April 8, 2025 Researchers examine samples of titanium dioxide after reformation for directly splitting water with sunlight, at the Shenyang National Laboratory for Materials Science of the Institute of Metal Research of the Chinese Academy of Sciences in Shenyang, northeast China's Liaoning Province, April 7, 2025. Chinese researchers recently achieved a breakthrough in ''photocatalytic water splitting for hydrogen production.'' By performing ''structural reshaping'' and ''element substitution'' on a semiconductor material, they significantly enhanced the efficiency of converting water into clean hydrogen energy by using sunlight.. The key to directly splitting water with sunlight lies in a material called titanium dioxide. When exposed to sunlight, it functions like a microscopic power plant, generating energized electron-hole pairs that break down water molecules into hydrogen and oxygen, Liu Gang, director of the Institute of Metal Research of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and leader of the research team, explained.. However, traditional titanium dioxide has a critical flaw -- its internal structure resembles a maze, causing the activated electrons and holes to collide randomly and recombine and annihilate within a millionth of a second. Additionally, the high-temperature fabrication process of the material often leads to oxygen atom loss, creating positively charged ''trap zones'' that capture electrons.. Liu's team addressed these issues by introducing scandium, a rare-earth element neighboring titanium on the periodic table, to restructure the material.. Through precise control, the research team successfully developed a specialized titanium dioxide material with significantly enhanced performance -- its utilization of ultraviolet light exceeded 30 percent, and its hydrogen production efficiency under simulated sunlight was 15 times higher t (Credit Image: © Pan Yulong/Xinhua/Zuma Press/Fotoarena)

20250408_zaf_x99_113 SHENYANG, April 8, 2025 Researchers discuss the design of an experiment at the Shenyang National Laboratory for Materials Science of the Institute of Metal Research of the Chinese Academy of Sciences in Shenyang, northeast China's Liaoning Province, April 7, 2025. Chinese researchers recently achieved a breakthrough in ''photocatalytic water splitting for hydrogen production.'' By performing ''structural reshaping'' and ''element substitution'' on a semiconductor material, they significantly enhanced the efficiency of converting water into clean hydrogen energy by using sunlight.. The key to directly splitting water with sunlight lies in a material called titanium dioxide. When exposed to sunlight, it functions like a microscopic power plant, generating energized electron-hole pairs that break down water molecules into hydrogen and oxygen, Liu Gang, director of the Institute of Metal Research of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and leader of the research team, explained.. However, traditional titanium dioxide has a critical flaw -- its internal structure resembles a maze, causing the activated electrons and holes to collide randomly and recombine and annihilate within a millionth of a second. Additionally, the high-temperature fabrication process of the material often leads to oxygen atom loss, creating positively charged ''trap zones'' that capture electrons.. Liu's team addressed these issues by introducing scandium, a rare-earth element neighboring titanium on the periodic table, to restructure the material.. Through precise control, the research team successfully developed a specialized titanium dioxide material with significantly enhanced performance -- its utilization of ultraviolet light exceeded 30 percent, and its hydrogen production efficiency under simulated sunlight was 15 times higher than previously reported titanium dioxide materials, setting a (Credit Image: © Pan Yulong/Xinhua/Zuma Press/Fotoarena)

20250408_zaf_x99_109 SHENYANG, April 8, 2025 A researcher grinds titanium dioxide after reformation for directly splitting water with sunlight, at the Shenyang National Laboratory for Materials Science of the Institute of Metal Research of the Chinese Academy of Sciences in Shenyang, northeast China's Liaoning Province, April 7, 2025. Chinese researchers recently achieved a breakthrough in ''photocatalytic water splitting for hydrogen production.'' By performing ''structural reshaping'' and ''element substitution'' on a semiconductor material, they significantly enhanced the efficiency of converting water into clean hydrogen energy by using sunlight.. The key to directly splitting water with sunlight lies in a material called titanium dioxide. When exposed to sunlight, it functions like a microscopic power plant, generating energized electron-hole pairs that break down water molecules into hydrogen and oxygen, Liu Gang, director of the Institute of Metal Research of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and leader of the research team, explained.. However, traditional titanium dioxide has a critical flaw -- its internal structure resembles a maze, causing the activated electrons and holes to collide randomly and recombine and annihilate within a millionth of a second. Additionally, the high-temperature fabrication process of the material often leads to oxygen atom loss, creating positively charged ''trap zones'' that capture electrons.. Liu's team addressed these issues by introducing scandium, a rare-earth element neighboring titanium on the periodic table, to restructure the material.. Through precise control, the research team successfully developed a specialized titanium dioxide material with significantly enhanced performance -- its utilization of ultraviolet light exceeded 30 percent, and its hydrogen production efficiency under simulated sunlight was 15 times higher than previou (Credit Image: © Pan Yulong/Xinhua/Zuma Press/Fotoarena)