«Our method could be widely applicable to a large number of
metal phosphide materials for catalysts — not just for water splitting, but for a range of things,» he said.
That voltage is also higher than what is needed to induce the cobalt to precipitate out of the solution and form the cobalt
phosphide catalyst, which means when the bionic leaf is running there are always enough electrons around to induce the catalyst's formation — and therefore no excess
metal left to poison the microbes or bring the bionic leaf's water - splitting to a halt.