Scientists Develop New Artificial Photosynthesis System

For over two centuries, people everywhere have been dependent on fossil fuels as a concentrated source of energy. Convenient, energy-dense molecules packed with the fruits of photosynthesis over hundreds of millions of years have been put to use by our civilisation. But that supply is finite, and using fossil fuels has major, detrimental effects on Earth’s climate.

Scientists are looking into the feasibility of “artificial photosynthesis” as a viable option. This requires adapting a plant’s infrastructure to produce other fuels. The chemical machinery contained in a single leaf, however, is extraordinarily complicated and difficult to harness for human use.

Recently, six chemists from the University of Chicago presented a novel system for artificial photosynthesis in a research released in the journal Nature Catalysis on November 10. Artificial photosynthesis, in contrast to natural photosynthesis, might generate ethanol, methane, or even other fuels using carbon dioxide and water.

While there is still a ways to go before this technology can be used to fuel your automobile on a daily basis, it does provide scientists with a new avenue to investigate. In the short term, it might even be beneficial for making other compounds.

The problem is that while photosynthesis is designed to produce carbohydrates, which are fantastic for fueling humans, they are not suitable for powering our automobiles, which require much more focused energy. In order to develop more energy-dense fuels like ethanol or methane as alternatives to fossil fuels, researchers need to re-engineer the process.

Numerous intricate protein and pigment complexes carry out photosynthesis in nature. Carbohydrates are produced when they take in water and carbon dioxide, disassemble the molecules, and rearrange the atoms. However, scientists will need to alter the interactions to generate a new configuration, in which hydrogen exclusively surrounds a carbon core.