SHENYANG, April 8, 2025 — Chinese researchers have achieved a significant breakthrough in photocatalytic water splitting for hydrogen production, marking a step forward in clean energy technology.

The team, led by Liu Gang from the Institute of Metal Research at the Chinese Academy of Sciences, enhanced the efficiency of converting water into hydrogen using sunlight through structural reshaping and element substitution of semiconductor materials.

Current approaches to solar-driven hydrogen production primarily utilize solar panels for water electrolysis or employ semiconductor materials as catalysts.

Liu explained that titanium dioxide is central to the process of directly splitting water molecules when exposed to sunlight.

However, traditional titanium dioxide faces limitations due to its structural composition, which results in rapid recombination of activated electrons and holes.

Additionally, high-temperature fabrication methods can create oxygen atom deficiencies, leading to areas that trap electrons.

The research team introduced scandium, a rare-earth element, to modify the titanium dioxide, allowing the modified material to maintain structural integrity while eliminating charge imbalances.

This structural enhancement facilitated the escape of electrons and holes, markedly improving performance.

The new titanium dioxide material achieved over 30 percent utilization of ultraviolet light, and its hydrogen production efficiency under simulated sunlight was 15 times greater than previously reported materials.

Liu estimated that a one-square-meter photocatalytic panel could produce approximately 10 liters of hydrogen in a day of sunlight.

This research was published in the Journal of the American Chemical Society, where Liu noted the goal of improving technology to utilize visible light for enhanced efficiency.

China currently produces over 50 percent of the world's titanium dioxide and ranks prominently in scandium reserves, indicating a strategic advantage in advancing this field.

In another significant achievement, a Chinese quantum computing firm, Origin Quantum, recently completed the fine-tuning of a large AI model using its third-generation quantum computer, Origin Wukong.

This represents a milestone as it marks the first large-model task executed on a quantum computer, showcasing the applicability of quantum technology in artificial intelligence.

The results demonstrated a reduction in model parameters by 76 percent, leading to an 8.4 percent improvement in training performance.

The Origin Wukong, a 72-qubit programmable superconducting quantum computer, has been delivering cloud services to over 23 million users globally, successfully conducting 350,000 quantum computing tasks since its launch.

The ability to fine-tune AI models with quantum computing opens new avenues for addressing future computing challenges, especially in specialized applications such as medical diagnostics and financial risk assessments.

Furthermore, China has unveiled the Three Gorges Antarctic Eye, a 3.2-meter aperture radio/millimeter-wave telescope, which commenced scientific observations as part of efforts to enhance the nation's capabilities in Antarctic astronomy.

Officially launched on April 3 at Zhongshan Station, this telescope aims to study the Milky Way's neutral hydrogen and ammonia molecular spectral lines, contributing valuable data to the field of astrophysics.

The development team, including researchers from China Three Gorges University and Shanghai Normal University, has tackled significant technical challenges posed by Antarctica's harsh environment.

In agricultural innovation, China's first generation of 'space highland barley' is being cultivated from seeds returned from the Shijian-19 experimental satellite.

These seeds, chosen for their resilience and high yield, were subjected to a space environment that promotes genetic mutations.

The project aims to enhance grain output and farmer incomes through advanced agricultural technologies, integrating space breeding methodologies with local cultivation practices.