Does this technology have Promise?
"Artificial photosynthesis holds out the promise of being able to provide an efficient way of producing solar fuels" (Cogdell)
By breaking the process of photosynthesis into it's general four steps - light concentration, charge separation, water splitting, and the synthesis of a fuel - scientists are focusing on finding ways to replicate these steps for artificial photosynthesis. While some progress seems to have been made as researchers try to mimic natural photosynthesis, they have not yet developed components that are both efficient and strong enough to incorporate into a system to capture light and store energy on the gigantic level that natural photosynthesis seems to
"To date, the main focus has been to design and synthesize electrocatalysts that can be linked to a light-driven
charge separation system. Dyes have been used for the latter, but inorganic semiconductors offer a more realistic and robust approach for providing the oxidizing and/or reducing potentials necessary to split water and power reductive chemistry" (Barber)
These artificial technologies that scientists are working on globally have a final goal to harness energy from the sun to produce fuels for transport, select industries, and the generation of electricity. This would, in turn, change our options for energy in the future and provide an alternative to fossil fuels (a non-renewable resource). If, and when, scientists are able to achieve artificial photosynthesis on a large scale, it would promise to provide a way to:
By breaking the process of photosynthesis into it's general four steps - light concentration, charge separation, water splitting, and the synthesis of a fuel - scientists are focusing on finding ways to replicate these steps for artificial photosynthesis. While some progress seems to have been made as researchers try to mimic natural photosynthesis, they have not yet developed components that are both efficient and strong enough to incorporate into a system to capture light and store energy on the gigantic level that natural photosynthesis seems to
"To date, the main focus has been to design and synthesize electrocatalysts that can be linked to a light-driven
charge separation system. Dyes have been used for the latter, but inorganic semiconductors offer a more realistic and robust approach for providing the oxidizing and/or reducing potentials necessary to split water and power reductive chemistry" (Barber)
These artificial technologies that scientists are working on globally have a final goal to harness energy from the sun to produce fuels for transport, select industries, and the generation of electricity. This would, in turn, change our options for energy in the future and provide an alternative to fossil fuels (a non-renewable resource). If, and when, scientists are able to achieve artificial photosynthesis on a large scale, it would promise to provide a way to:
- store solar energy for use when and where it is needed
- produce sustainable fuels for transport
- produce sustainable feed-stocks for the production of fertilizer, pharmaceuticals, plastic, etc.