Artificial photosynthesis could help make fuels, plastics and medicine
Wednesday, April 29, 2015 - 09:30
in Physics & Chemistry
The global industrial sector accounts for more than half of the total energy used every year. Now scientists are inventing a new artificial photosynthetic system that could one day reduce industry's dependence on fossil fuel-derived energy by powering part of the sector with solar energy and bacteria. In the ACS journal Nano Letters, they describe a novel system that converts light and carbon dioxide into building blocks for plastics, pharmaceuticals and fuels—all without electricity.