A group of Australian and Chinese researchers have made a ground-breaking discovery which could revolutionize solar energy. Max Lu, professor at the University of Queensland (UQ)'s Australian Institute for Bioengineering and Nanotechnology (AIBN), said they were one step closer to the holy grail of cost-effective solar energy with their discovery."We have grown the world's first titanium oxide single crystals with large amounts of reactive surfaces, something that was predicted as almost impossible," Lu told Xinhua. Titania nano-crystals are promising materials for cost-effective solar cells, hydrogen production from splitting water, and solar decontamination of pollutants. Lu said it would be about five years for the water and air pollution applications to be commercially available, and about five to ten years for solar energy conversion using such crystals.

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