March 2, 2015

Supersonic electrons could produce future solar fuel




(March 2, 2015) Researchers from institutions including Lund University have taken a step closer to producing solar fuel using artificial photosynthesis. In a new study, they have successfully tracked the electrons’ rapid transit through a light-converting molecule.

The ultimate aim of the present study is to find a way to make fuel from water using sunlight. This is what photosynthesis does all the time – plants convert water and carbon dioxide to energy rich molecules using sunlight. Researchers around the world are therefore attempting to borrow ideas from photosynthesis in order to find a way to produce solar fuel artificially.