An artificial plant that can do artificial photosynthesis? Yes, that's what a Chemist, Daniel Nocera of MIT is trying to invent - Mimic photosynthesis!
His idea is simple - Split water into hydrogen and oxygen with sunlight, and then recombine them (which creates energy) in a fuel cell when power is needed. The trick is to do both these things cheaply.
Nocera has come up with a way to split water into its constituent elements that is less expensive than the machines used today. But he has yet to show that it can be done on a broad scale.
For now, the future of an artificial leaf that’s as cheap as the real ones may come down to some elementary chemistry: Can scientists find replacements for the expensive and rare metals currently required? Nocera says a “new catalyst” for fuel cells is what’s needed, but he’s hopeful that he’ll find it. He predicts success in less than a decade—or about as long as it takes to grow a tree.
Just in case, I would love to have these plants in my garden to supply me with substantial Oxygen...
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