Water splitting–biosynthetic system with CO 2 reduction efficiencies exceeding photosynthesis
Abstract
Photosynthesis fixes CO 2 from the air by using sunlight. Industrial mimics of photosynthesis seek to convert CO 2 directly into biomass, fuels, or other useful products. Improving on a previous artificial photosynthesis design, Liu et al. combined the hydrogen-oxidizing bacterium Raistonia eutropha with a cobalt-phosphorus water-splitting catalyst. This biocompatible self-healing electrode circumvented the toxicity challenges of previous designs and allowed it to operate aerobically. When combined with solar photovoltaic cells, solar-to-chemical conversion rates should become nearly an order of magnitude more efficient than natural photosynthesis.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Pub Defense Publication
- Publication Date
- Jun 03, 2016
- Source ID
- 10.1126/science.aaf5039
Entities
People
- Brendan C. Colón
- Chong Liu
- Daniel G. Nocera
- Marika Ziesack
- Pamela Silver
Organizations
- Air Force Office of Scientific Research
- Harvard Medical School
- Harvard University
- Nanyang Technological University
- National Science Foundation
- Office of Naval Research
- Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering