Artificial leaf

                                                        Artificial leafs

The problem that poses the greatest threat to humanity in this going era is of climate change this problem is not just threatening the existence of humanity rather all forms of life is endangered. So to tackle this issue scientists have created an artificial leaf that could turn out to be the cure for this problem of ours. So this artificial leaf has been created to tackle climate change by converting harmful carbon dioxide (CO2) into useful alternative fuel. This new artificial technology was inspired by the way plants use energy from the sunlight to turn carbon dioxide into food.

 "We call it an artificial leaf because it mimics real leaves and the process of photosynthesis," said Yimin Wu, an engineering professor at the University of Waterloo who led the research. "A leaf produces glucose and oxygen. We produce methanol and oxygen."

Carbon dioxide acts as the primary contributor to global warming so making methanol from carbon dioxide can both reduce greenhouse gas emissions and provide a substitute for the fossil fuels that create them. The key for this process being inexpensive is a cheap, optimized red powder called cuprous oxide. This powder acts as a trigger for a chemical reaction when it is mixed with water and then carbon dioxide is blown and with a solar simulator a beam of white light is directed. As a result this process produces oxygen while also converting carbon dioxide into methanol.

"I'm extremely excited about the potential of this discovery to change the game," said Wu, a professor of mechanical and mechatronics engineering, and a member of the Waterloo Institute for Nanotechnology. "Climate change is an urgent problem and we can help reduce CO2 emissions while also creating an alternative fuel."

Sherjan Khan

Author & Editor

Hello World! I am Naveed Khan, I always had passion for new tech ventures.