Turning sunshine into hydrogen
US research team unveils biohybrid photoconversion system; this promising fuel source of the future works like a solar cell, only it makes hydrogen rather than electricityA US Department of Energy (DOE) research team has made some early steps towards a biohybrid photoconversion system capable of converting light into hydrogen.
The Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) team in Tennessee has demonstrated the technology sufficiently for publication in the academic journal Energy & Environmental Science.
Based on a natural reaction between photosynthetic plant materials and synthetic polymers, it sees light harvesting complex II (LHC-II) proteins combine with the polymers into a membrane surface absorbing light and giving off hydrogen.
The team likens the process to the way photovoltaic cells and plants convert light to energy. They found that introducing the LHC-II into a liquid environment containing polymers caused a reaction forming plate-like layers structurally similar to those from which natural photosynthetic membranes are formed. The LHC-II protein serves to absorb solar energy and transfer it to the photosynthetic reaction centres.
This phenomenon potentially forms the basis for a self-assembling, self-repairing biohybrid photoconversion system. Their photo-sensitive surface would collect solar energy and subject it to a combination of the proteins and a catalytic material like platinum, converting the light into fuel-ready hydrogen.
The source of the LHC-II protein? It was extracted from ordinary old spinach, bought from a local supermarket.
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