Artificial photosynthesis converts CO2 into fuel

Artificial photosynthesis converts CO2 into fuel
New methods or important ways to reduce greenhouse gases
Scientists at Florida State University have found that artificially triggered photosynthesis in synthetic materials can convert CO2, the main component of greenhouse gases, into clean air, while generating energy, with great potential for improving air quality and creating clean energy. This achievement was published in the most recent issue of the Journal of Materials Chemistry.
The physicist organization network reported on the 26th that this breakthrough is significant. Professor Fernando Yurib-Romo said: "From a scientific point of view, it is very difficult to create materials that absorb light of a specific color. From a social point of view, we need to develop practical technologies that can help reduce greenhouse gases."
The method of triggering chemical reactions created by Yurib-Romo and his team, known as the Metal-Organic Framework (MOF), simulates plant photosynthesis, decomposes CO2, and produces solar fuels that provide energy.
For many years, scientists have been pursuing a method of chemically converting visible light. Although ultraviolet light has enough energy to allow a similar reaction in ordinary materials such as titanium dioxide, ultraviolet light only accounts for 4% of the sunlight, while purple to red wavelengths absorb most of the light, but few materials can be "picked up". These lower energy lights. Researchers have tried a variety of materials, but materials that absorb visible light are often rare and expensive materials, such as platinum, rhodium, and ruthenium, making process costs extremely high.
The Yurib-Romo team uses a common non-toxic metal titanium, adding organic molecules as a receiving antenna for light, and a blue LED light reactor consisting of a blue LED photoreactor that mimics the blue wavelength of the sun, CO2 Slowly added to the cylinder, after a slow chemical reaction, it is reduced to two forms of carbon - solar fuel formic acid and formamide, while the air inside the cylinder is purified.
Now, the team's goal is to continue to adjust the method to see if other visible wavelengths can also be triggered by chemical reactions with synthetic materials. “If feasible, this process may be an important way to reduce greenhouse gases and create new technologies and infrastructure,” says Yurib-Romo, for example, to build a power plant capable of capturing large amounts of CO2, or to make this material A roof that cleans the air and provides household energy.
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Solar energy is inexhaustible and has the potential to sustainably meet all the needs of future energy sources, but there is always a problem that solar energy is difficult to store. The plants on earth are very powerful. They can convert carbon dioxide and water into organic matter through photosynthesis, and release oxygen, and at the same time complete the energy conversion of light energy into chemical energy in organic matter. Mastering artificial photosynthesis as soon as possible is expected to provide a "three-way win-win" weapon for materials science, energy technology and environmental governance. (Source: China Industrial Network)