Photosynthesis: Our day in the sun

Issued: Fri, 03 Jun 2011 09:50:00 BST

‘What we are trying to do’, explains botanist Professor Richard Cogdell who is leading the research, ‘is to learn from biology how to produce an array of mimics, or chemical analogues, that we can test, always referring back to how biology has evolved in clever ways to use sunlight to make a fuel.

Plants take solar energy, concentrate it and then use that energy to fix CO2 from the atmosphere and turn it into fuel, releasing oxygen at the same time. If we could devise an analogous robust chemical system that could do this, to create what you might call an artificial leaf, then we would be well on the way to having solar collectors that produce a fuel, as opposed to creating electricity.’

Professor Cogdell has been involved in determining the three-dimensional structure of the molecules involved in the first two stages of photosynthesis. The team want to use not only the naturally occurring structures, but to be able to modify and improve upon them, a skill brought by molecular biologist Dr Peter Dominy.

Professor Lee Cronin, a synthetic chemist, focuses on molecular self-assembly, basically producing the molecules the team needs.

These molecules then need to be stabilised on a surface the team can control, which requires engineering at the nano-scale, a skill provided by Dr Nikolaj Gadegaard. Finally, important theoretical information is needed to be able to understand what is going on, and to be able to make predictions.

It is going to be a lengthy journey, and the team recognise the need both for further collaboration internationally and to raise global awareness of the potential of artificial photosynthesis.

Related pages

• Prof Richard Cogdell
• Dr Peter Dominy
• Prof Lee Cronin
• Dr Nikolaj Gadegaard
• School of Chemistry
• Institute of Molecular, Cell and Systems Biology