Scientists find new way to produce hydrogen fuel from sunlight
Bengaluru, April 28: The energy provided by sunlight in an hour is equivalent to mankind's total energy consumption for one year, but the development of devices to turn this abundant natural gift into a feasible energy source for mankind had remained a challenge.
A new research, led by Govinder Singh Pawar -- an Indian origin scientist at the University of Exeter in the UK -- has given a ray of hope for the solar fuel.
According to the report, published in the journal Scientific Reports, the team of researchers developed an innovative method to split water into its constituent parts - Hydrogen and Oxygen - using sunlight.
The hydrogen can then be used as a fuel, with the potential to power everyday items such as homes and vehicles.
Hydrogen is considered to be a promising alternative fuel source that is clean -- its only by-product is water -- and is capable of replacing fossil fuels.
"The Hydrogen fuel that can be created through this synthetic photosynthesis method would not only severely reduce carbon emissions, but would also create a virtually limitless energy source," the university said in a statement.
"Photo electro-chemical" water splitting, emulating the natural photosynthesis using man-made materials, has long been considered as the Holy Grail to a carbon-free hydrogen economy.
However, efforts to produce efficient stable semiconductor material, in order to effectively convert sunlight to a storable widespread energy source, had so far proved elusive.
The ground-breaking new research by Pawar and co-workers at University's Environment and Sustainability Institute centres on the use of a revolutionary photo-electrode - made from nanoparticles of the elements lanthanum(La), iron(Fe) and oxygen(O).
Here, the team utilised Lanthanum iron oxide (LaFeO3) to create a semiconducting material that gave the ideal results for the production of Hydrogen from water using sunlight, making it the strongest candidate yet for renewable Hydrogen generation.
The researchers believe their novel photo-electrode made using "scalable spray pyrolysis method" is not only cheap to produce, but can also be recreated on a larger scale for mass and worldwide use.
"To the best of our knowledge, we report for the first time the nanostructured LaFeO3 photoelectrode for spontaneous Hydrogen evolution from water without any external applied bias," the researchers said.
"Moreover, our material has excellent stability where, after 21 hours of testing, it does not degrade, ideal for water splitting purpose."
The university in its statement said that Pawar and his colleagues "are currently working on further improving our material to make it more efficient to produce Hydrogen".
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'Even Ajmal Kasab was given a fair trial': SC remarks in Yasin Malik case
New Delhi, Nov 21: Even Ajmal Kasab was given a fair trial in our country, the Supreme Court on Thursday remarked and indicated it may set up a courtroom inside Tihar Jail for the trial of J&K separatist leader Yasin Malik in a kidnapping case.
A bench of Justices Abhay S Oka and Augustine George Masih was hearing a CBI plea against the September 20, 2022 order of a Jammu trial court that directed Malik, serving life term in Tihar jail, to be produced before it physically to cross-examine the prosecution witnesses in the kidnapping case of Rubaiya Sayeed, daughter of politician Mufti Mohammad Sayeed.
The bench, however, remarked, "How will cross-examination be done online? There is hardly any connectivity in Jammu... In our country, a fair trial was given even to Ajmal Kasab and legal assistance was given to him in the high court."
Kasab, the lone Pakistani gunman caught alive after the Mumbai terror attack, was hanged till death at the Yerawada Central Prison .
The bench told Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, representing the CBI, to take instructions on the total number of witnesses in the case.
Mehta pointed out security concerns and said Malik couldn't be taken to Jammu for the trial.
The law officer accused Malik of "playing tricks" for having asked to appear personally and not engaging a lawyer. Mehta said Malik was not an ordinary criminal and showed a purported photograph of Malik sharing the dais with terrorist Hafiz Saeed.
The top court said it could order trial to take place inside the jail premises and ask the judge to come to the national capital for the proceedings.
The bench, however, noted all the accused persons in the matter had to be heard before it passes an order.
Mehta said Malik appearing in the Supreme Court physically raised security concerns previously.
The bench said Malik could be allowed to appear virtually in the apex court proceedings and posted the matter on November 28.
The CBI in the meantime was directed to amend its petition and implead all accused persons as respondents.
In 2023, Mehta wrote to then Union Home Secretary Ajay Kumar Bhalla flagging a "serious security lapse" after Malik was brought to the Supreme Court to appear in a case.
Malik, serving life sentence in a terror-funding case, was brought to the high-security apex court premises in a prison van escorted by armed security personnel without the court's permission.
Expressing surprise at his presence, Mehta informed the apex court there was a procedure for high-risk convicts to be allowed into the courtroom to argue their case personally.
The CBI said Malik, the top leader of the Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF), was a threat to national security and cannot be allowed to be taken outside the Tihar jail premises.
The apex court on April 24, 2023, issued notices on the CBI's appeal following which the incarcerated JKLF chief wrote a letter to the registrar of the Supreme Court on May 26, 2023 seeking permission to appear in person to plead his case.
An assistant registrar took up his request on July 18, 2023 and said the apex court would pass necessary orders -- a decision the Tihar Jail authorities reportedly misconstrued to allow Malik to appear and argue his case.
Mehta referred to the CBI's contention in its appeal against the trial court order to bring Malik to Jammu for the in-person examination of the witnesses in the kidnapping case, and said under Section 268 of the CrPC a state government may direct certain people to not be shifted from the confines of a prison.
On September 20, 2022, a special TADA court in Jammu directed Malik to be physically produced before it on the next hearing for him to cross-examine prosecution witnesses in the kidnapping case.
The CBI challenged the trial court order before the Supreme Court as appeals in TADA cases are only heard by the top court.
Rubaiya was abducted near Lal Ded Hospital in Srinagar on December 8, 1989 and freed five days later after the then BJP-backed V P Singh government at the Centre released five terrorists in exchange.
Mufti, who now lives in Tamil Nadu, is a prosecution witness of the CBI, which took over the case in early 1990s.
Malik is lodged in Tihar jail after he was sentenced by a special NIA court in May, 2023 in a terror-funding case.
