Develop simple, cheap materials for 'artificial photosynthesis'

A synthetic material that simulates the process of using sunlight to produce oxygen and hydrogen in ways similar to plant photosynthesis that has been successfully developed by scientists in Florida. , America.

Cheap materials for artificial photosynthesis

Grade school we have learned that plants use energy from the sun to convert water and _CO2 into sugars and oxygen. This process is called photosynthesis - an essential process for life on Earth. Previously, researchers have created a system that simulates photosynthesis, but there are still issues that make it far from reality.

This material can absorb light from the sun, then use it to turn water into oxygen and hydrogen.

In this study, Associate Professor Jose L. Mendoza Cortes at Florida State University has developed a material that can absorb light from the sun, then use it to turn water into oxygen and hydrogen. This material was discovered while studying birnessite , a type of manganese oxide . "What we achieve is that we can go deeper into the material that can actually separate water, convert it to hydrogen and oxygen with the help of a little electricity," he said.

According to Cortes, birnessite has a class structure and, if separated, has only one layer, it is capable of gathering solar energy at a very fast rate. "This is an exciting discovery," he says, "because you only need to use a single layer of sunlight, so you can just lay the material under the sun. So, we can use it to replace the electricity, then use it to break the water molecules into oxygen with the simple operation of bringing the sun. "

"That's also why we call it artificial photosynthesis : it's copying what nature does." Instead of creating carbohydrates, the system produces only oxygen and hydrogen . " Both types of gas have very widespread applications with high demands in human life, typically hydrogen that can provide fuel to cars, etc. Not only in industry, but according to Professor Cortes , each family can install this material on the roof to provide energy to the family.