Generating clean energy with the help of plants? A research team shows for the first time how this could work.
Research is still in its infancy, but hopes are high: Photosynthesis could solve urgent energy problems in the future and reduce the emission of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere. That suggests a study by a team of scientists published in the journal Nature.
Through photosynthesis, plants convert low-energy substances such as light, water and carbon dioxide into high-energy substances such as glucose and oxygen. This ancient process has been studied for a long time. Time and time again scientists have tried to artificially mimic natural processes in order to create clean fuels.
The team around coordinator Dr. Jenny Zhang from the University of Cambridge has now made completely new observations thanks to the use of laser pulses, ultra-fast spectroscopic techniques and extremely small time scales.
“The black box of photosynthesis has been opened up a bit”
The researchers found that at the beginning of photosynthesis electrons can escape, so the protein structure of the plant cell is “leaky”. In this way, electrical charges could be obtained from photosynthesis at certain points in time. “We thought we were just applying a new technique to confirm what we already knew,” Zhang said. “Instead, we found a completely new way and opened the black box of photosynthesis a little further.”
The researchers are now full of hope that the observation can be used systematically. The “harvested” electrons could then be used in power grids and batteries. The Cnet portal also writes that the development of biofuels could potentially be revolutionized in this way.
Researcher Zhang also sees a “completely new approach to biofuel production.” Electrons could be collected and diverted at the “earliest and strongest points” of photosynthesis. Her hopes are high: “In the long term, if we can create renewable energy and fuels from self-generating, self-recycling, living materials, that would be one of the greenest options imaginable for the future of sustainability.”
