May 20, 2014

Bionic particles self-assemble to capture light



Inspired by fictional cyborgs like Terminator, a team of researchers at the University of Michigan and the University of Pittsburgh has made the first bionic particles from semiconductors and proteins.

These particles recreate the heart of the process that allows plants to turn sunlight into fuel.

"Human endeavors to transform the energy of sunlight into biofuels using either artificial materials or whole organisms have low efficiency," said Nicholas Kotov, the Florence B. Cejka Professor of Engineering at the University of Michigan, who led the experiment.