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Photo Sheet App
Plants have a seemingly effortless skill – turning sunlight into energy – and scientists have been working to artificially emulate this photosynthesis process. The ultimate benefits for renewable energy could be huge – and a new approach based on 'photosheets' could be the most promising attempt we've seen so far.
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PhotoSheet is a nice, free program only available for Windows, that is part of the category Design & photography software and has been created by Steve Dodge. More about PhotoSheet Since we added this software to our catalog in 2011, it has already achieved 25,725 downloads, and last week it had 1 download.The software version is 1.0.0.6. Thank you for downloading PhotoSheet from our software library. This download is provided to you free of charge. The download is provided as is, with no modifications or changes made on our side. The download was scanned for viruses by our system. We also recommend you check the files before installation. The download version of PhotoSheet is 1.
The new device takes CO2, water, and sunlight as its ingredients, and then produces oxygen and formic acid that can be stored as fuel. The acid can either be used directly or converted into hydrogen – another potentially clean energy fuel.
Key to the innovation is the photosheet - or photocatalyst sheet - which uses special semiconductor powders that enable electron interactions and oxidation to occur when sunlight hits the sheet in water, with the help of a cobalt-based catalyst.
No additional components are required for the reaction to occur, and it's fully self-powered.
'We were surprised how well it worked in terms of its selectivity – it produced almost no by-products,' says chemist Qian Wang, from the University of Cambridge in the UK.
'Sometimes things don't work as well as you expected, but this was a rare case where it actually worked better.'
© University of Cambridge The device in action.
While the prototype photosheet only measures 20 square centimetres (3 square inches), the scientists who invented it say it should be relatively easy to scale up without incurring huge costs.
Photo Sheets
Ultimately, they think these sheets could be produced in large arrays, similar to those on solar farms. What's more, the resulting formic acid can be stored in a solution, and from there converted into different types of fuel as needed.
It achieves something that isn't always guaranteed in conversion systems like this – a clean and efficient process without any unwanted by-products. Any extra waste produced has to be dealt with, which can negate the positive effects of the initial reaction.
'It's been difficult to achieve artificial photosynthesis with a high degree of selectivity, so that you're converting as much of the sunlight as possible into the fuel you want, rather than be left with a lot of waste,' says Wang.
A team from the same lab was also responsible for developing an 'artificial leaf' material in 2019. While the new photosheet behaves in a similar way, it's more robust and easier to scale up – and it produces fuel that's more straightforward to store, too (last year's system created syngas).
That doesn't mean the new photosheet is ready to go commercial just yet: The researchers need to make the process a lot more efficient first; they are also experimenting with different catalysts that may be able to produce different solar fuels.
The need for a full transition to clean energy is more urgent than ever, but we're encouraged by how many projects are in the pipeline. However, as is the case with this new process, figuring out the science is just the start of producing a fuel that will work practically.
'Storage of gaseous fuels and separation of by-products can be complicated – we want to get to the point where we can cleanly produce a liquid fuel that can also be easily stored and transported,' says chemist Erwin Reisner, from the University of Cambridge.
'We hope this technology will pave the way toward sustainable and practical solar fuel production.'
The research has been published in Nature Energy.
Researchers from the University of Cambridge have developed a first-of-kind device that converts sunlight, carbon dioxide, and water into carbon-neutral fuel. This conversion takes place without requiring any additional components or electricity.
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This device is a major step towards achieving artificial photosynthesis, which is a process mimicking the ability of plants to convert sunlight into energy.
The device is based on an advanced ‘photosheet’ technology and converts sunlight, carbon dioxide and water into oxygen and formic acid which is a storable fuel that can be either be used directly or be converted into hydrogen.
According to the report in the journal New Energy, the results represent a brand new method to convert CO2 (carbon dioxide) into clean fuels. The production of this device can be scaled up to be used on energy ‘farms’ similar to solar farms, producing clean fuel using sunlight and water.
“It’s been difficult to achieve artificial photosynthesis with a high degree of selectivity, so that you’re converting as much of the sunlight as possible into the fuel you want, rather than be left with a lot of waste,” said first author Dr Qian Wang from Cambridge’s Department of Chemistry.
“In addition, storage of gaseous fuels and separation of by-products can be complicated — we want to get to the point where we can cleanly produce a liquid fuel that can also be easily stored and transported,” said Professor Erwin Reisner, the paper’s senior author.
This new wireless device is sturdy and produces clean fuel that is easier to store and shows potential for producing fuel products at scale. The size of the test unit is 20 square centimetres, however, the researchers believe that it should be relatively straightforward to scale it up to several square meters.
Moreover, the formic acid can be accumulated in solution, and be chemically converted into different types of fuel.
“We were surprised how well it worked in terms of its selectivity — it produced almost no by-products,” said Wang. “Sometimes things don’t work as well as you expected, but this was a rare case where it actually worked better.”
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