Solar Energy Technology Marks Step Towards Artificial Leaf

The scientific world is hard at work developing advanced solar energy technologies like photovoltaics, but solar energy capture already happens in the natural world, through the process of photosynthesis.  Artificially reproducing photosynthesis as a form of renewable energy production has, so far, yielded all sorts of complications, but a team of Dutch scientists has made a major breakthrough, according to recently-published information.

Artificial Leaf Technology

The team – formed of scientists based at Holland’s Leiden University – have incorporated algae chlorophyll into an antenna design designed to capture light – a development that marks significant progress towards a fully artificial leaf.

In order to be used as energy, sunlight needs to be harvested first of all.  In the natural world, bacteria chlorosomes (the bacteria’ antennae) are the champions of solar energy harvesting, and are able to do in within dark and remote ecosystems, like ocean floors. 

Environmental Nanotechnology

Led by Professor Huub de Groot, the Dutch researchers based their solar energy technology on these chlorosomes, but did so in a retrospective way.  In other words, they put the finished environmental nanotechnology product together, and then established its precise molecular qualities. 

The chlorophyll they used originated from spirulina – a bacteria form available globally – and, in order to deduce how it worked, they employed techniques including NMR (Nuclear Magnetic Resonance) and x-ray diffraction.  They concluded that their product mirrored the original very closely indeed. 

“We already knew that the light antennae in bacteria form a structure rather like the annual rings of a tree trunk”, Professor de Groot stated, in comments published on Leiden University’s website.

“The molecules in these semi-synthetic antennae seem to stack in a different way; they are flat.  But this, too, is one of four ways we had thought in advance were possible.”

Artificial Forests

The end result is essentially a framework for capturing solar energy, although the next step of direct light-to-energy conversion remains unattained. 

However, when such technology is realised, the notion of vast networks of artificial forests imitating nature could be reality.

“This is a completely new approach in this field”, Professor de Groot added.

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