Saving the World With Sunbeams

Nocera's reaction got the photons in light to free up hydrogen atoms, but that's only half the equation. The harder part will be to also capture the oxygen that emerges when water molecules are split. That way, both elements can be fed into a fuel cell, making the process as efficient as possible.

Scientists not affiliated with his work say those steps are achievable, and Nocera agrees. But first, major advances in basic chemistry will be necessary for the reactions to be well understood. As a result, Nocera believes it might be 20 years before engineers design systems based on his work. And he frets that too few scientists are exploring the problem, with many top minds instead focused on biomedical research.

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