Artificial Leaf

Hydrogen-producing artificial leaves might soon be even better at their jobs thanks to a new study that examined the effects of pressure on the chemical processes they run. It all comes down to bubbles.

Leaves are impressive machines, converting sunlight, carbon dioxide and water into energy. Cambridge scientists have now created artificial leaves that can float on water, tapping into sunlight above it and water below to efficiently produce fuels.

"Artificial leaf" systems could play a key role in the fight against climate change, and a team of engineers has just picked up the pace with a solution that captures carbon dioxide at 100 times the rate of current technologies.

Researchers at Rice University have built a simple new solar-powered device that can create hydrogen for fuel by splitting water. It's similar to other “artificial leaf” designs but the team says it’s self-sufficient and relatively cheap to produce.

Over the last few years humans have tried to mimic nature with artificial leaves, but they’re never quite up to scratch. Now, researchers have designed a new version that could work under real-world conditions, sucking carbon dioxide out of the air and creating oxygen and synthetic fuels.