New Artificial Leaf Design Could Convert CO2 10 Times Better Than Real Ones

Plants are natural air purifiers. Via photosynthesis process, they transform carbon dioxide (CO2) into oxygen and energy. Researchers have been working on various “artificial leaves” that can imitate this process, hoping that they could be used for the battle against the greenhouse effect. But they only work well inside the lab.

A team of researchers working at the University of Illinois at Chicago believes they have discovered a method to take the artificial leaves out of the lab and put them into the real world. If successful, these leaves could play a critical role in cleaning our environment.

According to Meenesh Singh, a UIC researcher, the issue that the existing artificial leaves are having is that they take in CO2 from the lab’s pressurized tanks. But when they are put into a natural environment, they need to draw in CO2 from the surrounding air.

In their new paper which was published in ACS Sustainable Chemistry & Engineering, the team describes a brand new design aimed to equip artificial leaves with that ability.

What they propose is: putting a traditional artificial leaf in a semi-permeable-membrane capsule filled with water. When the sun warms up the water, through the membrane, it evaporates. Simultaneously, the capsule would take in carbon dioxide.

The artificial leaf inside would then do its job of converting the CO2 to CO (carbon monoxide) and oxygen. While CO could be used to make synthetic fuels like methanol and gasoline, oxygen could be collected or released into the environment.

In a press release, Singh said:

The researchers think that with their design, an artificial leaf would work 10 times more efficiently at transforming CO2 to fuel, compared to natural leaves. According to their calculation, 360 artificial leaves, each has a length of 1.7 meters and a width of 0.2 meters, would generate around half a ton of carbon monoxide (CO) each day.

If those leaves are spread out in an area of more than 500 square meters, they could lower the level of CO2 in the air by 10% in one day.

Singh continued: