New photocatalytic system converts CO2 into valuable fuel

A joint research team from the City University of Hong Kong (CityU) and collaborators recently developed a stable artificial photocatalytic system that is more efficient than natural photosynthesis. The newly developed system, which replicates a natural chloroplast, is capable of transforming carbon dioxide in water into methane, a useful fuel, very efficiently using light. This represents a significant breakthrough with potential contributions toward achieving carbon neutrality.

For context, photosynthesis is the mechanism through which chloroplasts in plants and certain organisms utilize sunlight, water, and carbon dioxide to produce food or energy. Over the past several decades, numerous researchers have endeavored to create synthetic photosynthesis processes with the objective of converting carbon dioxide into carbon-neutral fuel.

In the latest study, the joint-research team from CityU, The University of Hong Kong (HKU), Jiangsu University, and the Shanghai Institute of Organic Chemistry of the Chinese Academy of Sciences overcame these difficulties by using a supramolecular assembly approach to create an artificial photosynthetic system. It mimics the structure of a purple bacteria’s light-harvesting chromatophores (i.e. cells that contain pigment), which are very efficient at transferring energy from the sun.

The core of the new artificial photosynthetic system is a highly stable artificial nanomicelle – a kind of polymer that can self-assemble in water, with both a water-loving (hydrophilic) and a water-fearing (hydrophobic) end. The nanomicelle’s hydrophilic head functions as a photosensitizer to absorb sunlight, and its hydrophobic tail acts as an inducer for self-assembly.

When it is placed in water, the nanomicelles self-assemble due to intermolecular hydrogen bonding between the water molecules and the tails. Adding a cobalt catalyst results in photocatalytic hydrogen production and carbon dioxide reduction, resulting in the production of hydrogen and methane.

Using advanced imaging techniques and ultrafast spectroscopy, the team unveiled the atomic features of the innovative photosensitizer. They discovered that the special structure of the nanomicelle’s hydrophilic head, along with the hydrogen bonding between water molecules and the nanomicelle’s tail, make it a stable, water-compatible artificial photosensitizer, solving the conventional instability and water-incompatibility problem of artificial photosynthesis. The electrostatic interaction between the photosensitizer and the cobalt catalyst, and the strong light-harvesting antenna effect of the nanomicelle improved the photocatalytic process.

In the experiment, the team found that the methane production rate was more than 13,000μmol h−1 g−1, with a quantum yield of 5.6% over 24 hours. It also achieved a highly efficient solar-to-fuel efficiency rate of 15%, surpassing natural photosynthesis.

The study was supported by various funding sources, including the National Natural Science Foundation of China, the Guangdong Basic and Applied Basic Research Fund, the Shenzhen Science and Technology Program, and the Hong Kong Research Grant Council.