How Nanomaterials Can Help Make Fuel from Sunlight

Researchers say combining bacteria with nanoscale semiconductors opens a new path toward efficient artificial photosynthesis.

Researchers at the University of California, Berkeley, say that by combining nanoscale materials with bacteria, they have opened the door to a new way of designing systems that could efficiently turn carbon dioxide, water, and sunlight into useful organic compoundssimilar to what plants do through photosynthesis. Down the road, they say, the system could become a commercially viable way to produce high-value chemicals like drug precursors used by the pharmaceutical industry, or to store renewable energy in the form of liquid fuels.