Researchers create artificial leaf that converts carbon dioxide into energy and fuel

In India, researchers at the Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore are taking a queue from companies like LanzaTech and found a new way to create energy using carbon dioxide. By using sunlight, along with Copper Aluminum Sulphate and Zinc Sulphide, they were able to convert carbon dioxide salts into a fuel source.

According to Crazy Engineers, the researchers mimicked plant leaves and how they use photosynthesis to produce energy and oxygen using carbon dioxide and sunlight. They looked for elements that could mimic photosynthesis with the highest efficiency and found Copper Aluminium Sulphate and Zinc Sulphide did the trick. Those elements are conductive, biocompatiable and inexpensive, and were able to improve the energy converstion process by up to 20% compared to a natural leaf that can only convert 1% of the energy.

Researchers were also able to synthesize a Sulphate based biofuel using this method which supports 100% combustion with recyclable carbon dioxide emission, according to Crazy Engineers.