Artificial photosynthesis

Artificial photosynthesis is a chemical process that replicates the natural process of photosynthesis, a process that converts sunlight, water, and carbon dioxide into carbohydrates and oxygen. The term, artificial photosynthesis, is commonly used to refer to any scheme for capturing and storing the energy from sunlight in the chemical bonds of a fuel (a solar fuel). converts water into hydrogen ions and oxygen, and is a main research area in artificial photosynthesis. is another studied process, that replicates natural carbon fixation.

Research developed in this field encompasses the design and assembly of devices for the direct production of solar fuels, photoelectrochemistry and its application in fuel cells, and the engineering of enzymes and photoautotrophic microorganisms for microbial biofuel and biohydrogen production from sunlight. Many, if not most, of the artificial approaches to artificial photosynthesis are bio-inspired, i.e., they rely on biomimetics.

The photosynthetic reaction can be divided into two half-reactions of oxidation and reduction, both of which are essential to producing fuel. In plant photosynthesis, water molecules are photo-oxidized to release oxygen and protons. The second stage of plant photosynthesis (also known as the Calvin-Benson cycle) is a light-independent reaction that converts carbon dioxide into glucose (fuel). Researchers of artificial photosynthesis are developing that are able to perform both of these reactions. Furthermore, the protons resulting from water splitting can be used for hydrogen production. These catalysts must be able to react quickly and absorb a large percentage of the incident solar photons.

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