Rare-earth doped nano-glass-ceramics for extending spectral response of water-splitting semiconductor electrodes by high intense UV-blue up-conversion: Turning the sun into blue

•High efficient IR to UV-blue up-conversion in rare-earth doped nano-glass-ceramics.•Long wavelength harvesting of unused portions of solar irradiation.•Enhanced spectral response of water-splitting semiconductor electrodes of a PEC cell.

The use of hydrogen to feed Fuel Cells emerges as an attractive renewable solution to meet the terawatt carbon-neutral energy demand challenge. Rare-earth doped nano-glass-ceramics, presenting outstanding high intense UV-blue up-conversion processes, appear as an interesting approach to assist long wavelength light harvesting of solar irradiation, extending the photo-catalytic response to the red and near-infrared region to overcome the drawback of large band-gap materials used in the splitting of water into oxygen and hydrogen in a photo-electrochemical cell.

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