Toward floating, fuel-making artificial leaves

Scientists have been trying to mimic the energy-generating ability of photosynthesis for decades. The ideal technology would be a device that integrates photovoltaic materials, which convert sunlight to electricity, with electrocatalysts that convert water and carbon dioxide to hydrocarbon fuels. Researchers have now made such an artificial leaf device using an organic photovoltaic (OPV) material. Depending on the catalyst used, the device either splits water to make hydrogen fuel or splits water and CO 2 to create syngas—a mix of hydrogen and carbon monoxide that is used to make liquid fuels such as diesel. The work is a step toward low-cost, sustainable artificial leaves that float on water and produce solar fuels , says Celine Wing See Yeung at the University of Cambridge. She presented the research in April at a meeting of the Materials Research Society (ChemRxiv 2024, DOI: 10.26434 /chemrxiv-2024-ql0bc ). This is the first OPV-based artificial leaf