Synthetic photosynthesis is now a possibility

Chemists have discovered a new technique making synthetic photosynthesis possible.

Photosynthesis is nature’s phenomena which, apart from supplying oxygen to humans, helps plants give the energy and food they require in order to survive. Making use of visible light, the process provides the ‘fuel’ the plants need.

Now, chemists at the Brookhaven National Laboratory and Virginia Tech have been working on methods to recreate the process of photosynthesis artificially in laboratories, hoping to create the ‘fuel’, which would be methane.

The chemists designed two supramolecules which were made up of light-harvesting ruthenium (Ru) metal ions attached each with single catalytic centre of rhodium (Rh) metal ions, Futurism reported.

The lead author of the research, Gerald Manbeck explained in a press release, “By building supramolecules with multiple light absorbers that may work independently, we are increasing the probability of using each electron productively.”

As per their study published in the Journal of the American Chemical Society, both the metal ions could act as catalysts. However, the researchers aim to find out which one of the two created supramolecules works better than the other.

The results demonstrated that in a 10-hour time period, the supramolecule with six Ruthenium light absorbers was able to generate 280 hydrogen molecules for each catalyst. On the other hand, the supramolecule with three Ruthenium ions was able to produce only 40 hydrogen molecules for a period of 4 hours, after which it stopped working.

The co-author Etsuko Fujita stated, “To promote catalysis, the Rh catalyst must be low enough in energy to accept the electrons from the Ru light absorbers when the absorbers are exposed to light.”

In simpler words, it means that the larger supramolecule was a bit more electron-deficient that made it more open to electrons required for the artificial photosynthesis, according to Science Alert.

Through this process, the scientists were able to accomplish two objectives: supplying cleaner energy and cleaning the air. Firstly, the process could help researchers use this method to create clean energy fuel. Secondly, the process could be used for removing air pollutants since carbon dioxide is an essential constituent in the process, hence, achieving the two goals.