http://www.wired.co.uk/news/archive/2011-03/28/artificial-leaf excerpt : * * *MIT professor Daniel Nocera claims<http://portal.acs.org/portal/acs/corg/content?_nfpb=true&_pageLabel=PP_ARTICLEMAIN&node_id=222&content_id=CNBP_026944&use_sec=true&sec_url_var=region1&__uuid=cb926958-56be-49fc-9948-1728debd5db6> to have created an artificial leaf, made from stable and inexpensive materials, which mimics nature's photosynthesis process.* *The device is an advanced solar cell, no bigger than a typical playing card, which is left floating in a pool of water. Then, much like a natural leaf, it uses sunlight to split the water into its two core components, oxygen and hydrogen, which are stored in a fuel cell to be used when producing electricity<http://www.wired.co.uk/news/archive/2011-02/24/electricity-conducting-plastics> .* * * * * ( thanks to Gael for the link )