Nature-Inspired Green Energy Technology Clears Major Development Hurdle

Scientists at the Department of Energy’s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory have developed an artificial photosynthesis system, made of nanotubes, that appears capable of performing all the key steps of artificial photosynthesis. The scientists have demonstrated that their design allows for the rapid flow of protons from the interior space of the nanotube, where they are generated from splitting water molecules, to the outside, where they combine with carbon dioxide and electrons to form the fuel. Now that the team has showcased how the nanotubes can perform all the photosynthetic tasks individually, they are ready to begin testing the complete system. The individual unit of the system will be small square “solar fuel tiles” (several inches on a side) containing billions of the nanotubes sandwiched between a floor and ceiling of thin, slightly flexible silicate, with the nanotube openings piercing through these covers.