Solar hydrogen generation scheme. (Image credit: northcoastjournal.com)

A research team from Northwestern University and the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has made an unexpected discovery – a residue of a process used to build titania nanotubes which plays a significany role in improving theperformance of nano tubes used in solar cells for the production of hydrogen from water.

Without getting into too much technical details, which you can see here, the new discovery, if proven to be commercially viable, could be a small revolution in the hydrogen production process. Hydrogen, which combusts with high efficiency, leaving water as combustion residue, is the cleanest form of combustible fuel which can be stored and shipped.