Artificial Leaves Becoming Reality

In case you haven`t heard until now, researchers tried to develop the so-called artificial leaves, a research project that might soon become reality, but which for some time now had trouble with actually placing it in a natural environment.

Artificial leaves imitate photosynthesis, a natural process in which plants transform water and carbon dioxide from the atmosphere into carbohydrates by making use of the energy provided by the sun. In the beginning, the idea of artificial leaves seemed a bit far fetched due to the fact that they worked only in a controlled environment such as a research lab, where researchers controlled the atmosphere and the artificial leaves were fed pure carbon dioxide from tanks.

But the latest news from the University of Illinois at Chicago include an innovative design that will allow the artificial leaves to exist in a natural environment freely. The main challenge with the existing prototypes of artificial leaves is the fact that they were not designed to extract CO2 from the air by themselves as they were fed from pressurized tanks. In reality, plants act like an absorbent of CO2 pulling it from the air on its own. Thus, a paper published in the journal ACS Sustainability Chemistry & Engineering presents a new design established in such manner that artificial leaves receive the ability to pull independently the CO2 from the atmosphere. If you are wondering how this principle works here are a couple of details.

First of all, an artificial leaf is positioned inside a water-filled capsule designed form a semi-permeable membrane meant to permit the water to evaporate when warmed by the sun`s heat. Moreover, the same membrane allows the capsule to absorb carbon dioxide, which will determine the leave to transform CO2 into carbon monoxide and oxygen. The resulted CO is potentially extractable from the membrane and could be used to create synthetic fuels such as methanol. Also, the oxygen gathered with the help of artificial leaves might be released back into the environment because of the newly employed design of the artificial leaf. In other words, the new designed proposed by the UIC researchers is adequate to function freely outside just like it happens in the cycle of life of a normal leaf.

Artificial leaves becoming reality might end up being the most beneficial achievement for the environment in this century. The lab tests and studies prove the fact that the efficiency of the new design for artificial leaves is astounding. Actually, by using this innovative design for the leaves, the conversion of CO2 to energy and oxygen might be 10 times faster than the process that happens naturally in nature. Hence, artificial leaves might be able to diminish CO2 levels by 10 percent in just one day if they are placed over 400 square meters. We can definitely say that this can reduce drastically the greenhouse gases in the atmosphere and its negative effects that surround us.

So, the project developed by UIC provides hope for our environment due to the fact that this particular design for artificial leaves has the potential to provide cleaner air and counteract the greenhouse gases present in the atmosphere.