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Real-world-ready artificial leaf can pluck carbon dioxide out of thin air

Michael Irving February 13, 2019

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.

Researchers have developed a new design of artificial leaf that's able to pull carbon dioxide out ...

Environment

Bionic leaf turns sunlight and bacteria into fertilizer factories

Michael Irving April 4, 2017

Already used to break water down into hydrogen and oxygen, and in turn create liquid fuels and electricity, artificial leaves now have another string to their bow. A Harvard team has turned artificial leaves into low-cost, portable fertilizer factories.

The next iteration of the bionic leaf system has been used to create fertilizers

Science

Artificial leaf could make a medicinal mini-factory

Michael Irving December 21, 2016

Leaves are kind of like nature’s power plants, converting sunlight into energy for the plant. Now a team at Eindhoven University of Technology is using artificial leaves to produce chemicals, which could lead to solar-powered “mini-factories” that can create drugs and chemicals almost anywhere.

Inspired by a leaf, researchers at TU Eindhoven have developed a "mini-factory" that can use sunlight ...

Environment

Moth eyes inspire more efficient photoelectrochemical cells

Helen Clark July 17, 2014

Researchers at the Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Science and Technology (Empa) have developed a way to simulate photosynthesis using relatively low cost materials and a design based on the eye of a moth.

Illustration of the "moth eye" solar cell (Illustration: Empa)

Environment

Self-healing “artificial leaf” produces energy from dirty water

Darren Quick April 10, 2013

The "world's first practical artificial leaf" now has the ability to self-heal, enabling it to produce energy from dirty water.

The "artificial leaf" created by Daniel G. Nocera, Ph.D. and his team now has self-healing capabilities ...

Environment

Scientists unveil 'world's first practical artificial leaf'

Ben Coxworth March 28, 2011

Scientists have created what they say is the world's first practical artificial leaf, capable of producing energy from sunlight and water.

Environment

Drawing inspiration from Mother Nature in designing an ‘artifical leaf’

Darren Quick March 26, 2010

A team of scientists has presented a design strategy based on the chemistry and biology of natural leaves that could lead to working prototypes of an artificial leaf to produce hydrogen fuel.

Scientists have taken a leaf from Mother Nature's book in designing a blueprint for an artificial ...

Science

Converting light into energy with ‘artificial leaf’ one step closer

Michael Mulcahy July 1, 2009

Researchers have duplicated the light antenna of nature's most efficient photosynthesizer.

Science imitating Nature: researchers at Leiden University are a step closer to producing an "artificial leaf" ...