
A new material developed at the UCF can reportedly help trigger an artificial photosynthesis.
Through evolution, a primitive form of life on Earth first invented the process of photosynthesis over three billion years ago. Now, with a new material developed at the University of Central Florida (UCF), scientists may have figured out a way to reproduce it using modified titanium.
Titanium to Help Create Artificial Photosynthesis
But these became more solvable with the introduction of the MOF. The Metal Organic Framework is another new material created by modern science. These tiny, porous structures found a massive use in recent scientific techniques.
As such, the MOF was able to structure the organic compounds. The machine fashioned by the team looks very much like a tanning bed. As CO2 is fed through this photoreactor, a chemical process kicks in. This converts the carbon into formate and formamides, both a potential fuel. Thereby, the scientists seemed to have managed to create artificial photosynthesis.
“This work is a breakthrough,” said Fernando Uribe-Romo, part of the study. “Tailoring materials that will absorb a specific color of light is very difficult from the scientific point of view, […].”