An artificial leaf that generates fuel using sunlight

Researchers at the University of Cambridge have developed a technique that uses photosynthesis to convert carbon dioxide and water into polycarbonate alcohols, ethanol and n-propanol. It is possible to produce these types of liquid fuels through photosynthesis. With the help of sunlight, the carbon-rich fuel is produced in an artificial leaf. It must be able to be added directly to the vehicle’s engine as dropable fuel.

Until now, only simple chemicals such as syngas could be synthesized with artificial leaves. It is a mixture of hydrogen and carbon monoxide used in the manufacture of fuels, medicines and plastics. The researchers have now developed the synthetic paper so that it is able to produce clean ethanol and propanol directly without any intermediate step. To do this, they developed and improved a copper-palladium-based catalyst so that the blade can now produce more complex chemicals. The interesting thing is: it can be generated with the help of sunlight.

“Normally when you try to convert carbon dioxide into another chemical product using a synthetic leaf, you always end up with carbon monoxide or syngas, but here we have been able to create a practical liquid fuel using only the energy of the sun. This is an exciting advance that breaks up entirely new horizons in Our work,” explains Dr. Motiar Rahaman, first author of the study.

This technology could be an important building block in the production of clean fuels because while bioethanol is touted as a clean alternative to gasoline because it is made from plants and not fossil fuels, it is still controversial. The United States of America is one of the largest bioethanol producers in the world. According to the USDA, up to 45 percent of the corn grown is used for bioethanol production. In Germany, this value is 36 percent. According to the A specialized agency for renewable raw materials Energy crops are grown on 13 percent of agricultural land. This is why this technology is controversial, because it takes up agricultural land that could be used to produce food instead. With the new technology of artificial leaves, saving this biomass on such a scale would no longer be necessary.

The technology is still on a lab scale, and the device is still a proof of concept with low efficiency. But it works. The researchers are now working on optimization. On the other hand, the light absorber should be able to absorb sunlight better. On the other hand, according to the researchers, the catalyst must be sealed again so that it can convert more sunlight into fuel. And last but not least, the scalability of the device must be worked on in order to be able to produce the largest possible quantities of fuel. Many small and big steps towards the fossil fuel-free era.