Sino-UK discovery offers clean energy

A discovery made by British and Chinese researchers has taken scientists one step closer to the generation of clean energy by using sunlight to split water molecules, just as plants do through photosynthesis.

Researchers from the University of Liverpool, University College London and East China University of Science and Technology have synthesized a new organic material that works with sunlight to separate water into its constituent elements, oxygen and hydrogen.

Pure hydrogen is a zero-emission fuel that can be used in engines or batteries, so the breakthrough could lead to an abundant clean energy source for the future.