Artificial photosynthesis gets big boost from new catalyst

By a News Reporter-Staff News Editor at Global Warming Focus -- A new catalyst created by U of T Engineering researchers brings them one step closer to artificial photosynthesis -- a system that, just like plants, would use renewable energy to convert carbon dioxide (CO2) into stored chemical energy. By both capturing carbon emissions and storing energy from solar or wind power, the invention provides a one-two punch in the fight against climate change.

“Carbon capture and renewable energy are two promising technologies, but there are problems,” says Phil De Luna, one of the lead authors of a paper published in Nature Chemistry. “Carbon capture technology is expensive, and solar and wind power are intermittent. You can use batteries to store energy, but a battery isn’t going to power an airplane across the Atlantic or heat a home all winter: for that you need fuels.”

De Luna and his co-lead authors Xueli Zheng and Bo Zhang -- who conducted their work under the supervision of Professor Ted Sargent -- aim to address both challenges at once, and they are looking to nature for inspiration. They are designing an artificial system that mimics how plants and other photosynthetic organisms use sunlight to convert CO2 and water into molecules that humans can later use for fuel. …

https://www.newsrx.com/Butter/#!Search:a=14800723

(2017-12-04), Artificial photosynthesis gets big boost from new catalyst, Global Warming Focus, 44, ISSN: 1945-7855, BUTTER® ID: 014800723