Artificial Leaf Turns Sunlight into Electric Power | Environment

Artificial Leaf Turns Sunlight into Electric Power | Environment | English

Scientists at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology have turned to Mother Nature for inspiration, inventing a device that mimics photosynthesis, the process plants use to convert sunlight and water into usable energy.


The MIT researchers announced their invention at the American Chemical Society meeting in California. MIT chemistry professor Daniel Nocera says he and his colleagues took their cues from plants, which are literally buzzing with electricity.

"What happens is that sunlight comes in and hits the leaf and then the leaf immediately takes that sunlight and makes a wireless current," says Nocera.

During photosynthesis, the energy in sunlight splits water molecules into hydrogen and oxygen. The hydrogen joins with carbon dioxide to make sugar, an essential fuel for plant growth. In Nocera’s laboratory, scientists replicated that chemical process using a silicon device about the size and shape of a playing card, only thinner. It’s coated with nickel and cobalt catalysts that when exposed to water and ultraviolet light, accelerate a chemical reaction.