Abstract: Platinized chlorophyll a dihydrate polycrystals are used to expedite the photochemical cleavage of water to yield molecular hydrogen and oxygen. The peak quantum efficiency of this photoelectrolytic apparatus at 740 nm is about 20%.

Abstract: A device to convert solar energy into electricity, making use of the reversible photogalvanic principle. This principle is based on the spontaneous light and dark reactions between two electrochemical half cells constructed from a reversible electrochemical reaction. The device uses photosensitizers that operate in a broad band infrared spectral region.The specific photosensitizer used is chlorophyll a coated on a platinum electrode suspended in an ionic salt solution on one side of the cell and a platinum electrode is also suspended on the other side of the half cell in a hydroquinone solution, and the electrodes are electrically connected, these solutions are interconnected by a salt bridge which permits the flow of cation charge reversibly between said first and second half cells upon on-off light irradiation of the chlorophyll coated electrode.