Photocatalysis borrows a trick from plants: pigments absorb light, release energetic electrons and split water into hydrogen and oxygen. Standard lab setups rely on solid titanium-dioxide particles, which work only under ultraviolet light and can overheat. The new project mixed those particles with natural dyes—think chlorophyll green and beetroot purple—in a water-based fluid.

Because the pigments shift the absorption window into the visible range, more of the Sun’s energy is captured. Suspended in liquid, the nano-particles stay cool and are constantly stirred, so fresh reactants reach every surface. In lab tests under simulated sunlight, the slurry produced roughly forty percent more hydrogen than bare TiO₂. Replacing cracked solid plates is as easy as changing the fluid, and scaling up would mean pumping the mixture through transparent tubes rather than building large, fragile panels.

The idea, honoured with a special prize at the national finals, shows how blending nature’s colours with modern nanoscience could bring cleaner hydrogen a step closer.