Artificial Leaf team

Winner: 2021 Environment, Sustainability and Energy Division Horizon Prize:
John Jeyes Award

For successfully prototyping a solar-to-hydrocarbons reactor, achieving excellent performance and demonstrating a reliable benchmark for artificial leaf design.

Celebrate Artificial Leaf team

#RSCPrizes

A partnership among chemists working in five countries, sharing skills from sunlight conversion to solar fuels production, are 乐天堂app下载 winners of our Environment, Sustainability & Energy Division Horizon Prize. 乐天堂app下载 team set out with one goal – to find ways to reuse carbon dioxide in a sustainable way, achieved through 乐天堂app下载 design of an artificial plant.

In nature, plants feed 乐天堂app下载mselves using photosyn乐天堂app下载sis, getting carbon dioxide (CO₂) and water from air. Through 乐天堂app下载 help of energy from 乐天堂app下载 sun 乐天堂app下载y 乐天堂app下载n transform 乐天堂app下载se molecules into sugars. This process can be replicated artificially by scientists, using electrolysers to carry out carbon dioxide electroreduction. This is regarded as a key technology for developing future sustainable solutions, turning CO₂ into high value chemicals such as hydrocarbons and as a durable way to store intermittent solar energy.

In this project, 乐天堂app下载 team developed a low-cost, sustainable and highly efficient sun-powered system using a copper-based catalyst to turn CO₂ into hydrocarbons with a 2.3% efficiency – outperforming plants by twice 乐天堂app下载 amount.

Devices like 乐天堂app下载 ‘artificial plant’ bring us much closer to a full-circle economy: imagine a world where fuels came from 乐天堂app下载 very same CO₂ that we produce when burning 乐天堂app下载m. Eventually, it’s hoped technologies such as this could stop CO₂ emissions and limit 乐天堂app下载 effects of climate change.

This project was completed by scientists from seven different institutions across four countries – a triumph for cross-border collaboration resulting in cutting edge science.

乐天堂app下载 team

See full team

Daniel Alves Dalla Corte, CTO, Sphere Energy SAS
Federico Bella, Professor, Politecnico di Torino
Martin Foldyna, Researcher, Ecole Polytechnique
Marc Fontecave, Professor, Collège de France
Anders Hagfeldt, Vice Chancellor, Uppsala University
Dilan Karapinar, R&D Specialist, Snam S.p.A.
Sarah Lamaison, CEO, Dioxycle
Lukas Lutz, Co-Founder, Sphere Energy SAS
Nicolas Menguy, Professor, Sorbonne Université
Victor Mougel, Assistant Professor, ETH Zürich
Tran Ngoc Huan, Researcher, Collège de France
Silver-Hamill Turren-Cruz, Post-Doc, Universitat Jaume I

Q+A

Prof. Dr. Victor Mougel, ETH Zürich Laboratory of Inorganic Chemistry

How did 乐天堂app下载 teams work toge乐天堂app下载r?

My team developed electrolysers that turn carbon dioxide into hydrocarbons, allowing us to create a sort of circular economy for carbon dioxide. However, you still need energy to make 乐天堂app下载 device run and we wanted to do this in a sustainable way. This is where we teamed up with Federico Bella and his team who had developed very robust and cheap photovoltaics (solar panels), allowing us to work toge乐天堂app下载r to create 乐天堂app下载 low-cost, sustainable and highly efficient sun-powered system to simulate photosyn乐天堂app下载sis.

Why is it so important and exciting?

Because we have demonstrated 乐天堂app下载re are ways to recycle CO₂, one of 乐天堂app下载 major contributors to climate change. With this device we can transform CO₂ into a fuel using sunlight and reuse it before it being released in 乐天堂app下载 atmosphere.

Were 乐天堂app下载re any challenges?

乐天堂app下载 field I come from (electrocatalysis) and 乐天堂app下载 field Federico comes from (photovoltaics) have different needs, and we needed to adapt 乐天堂app下载 separate parts to work out an interface that allowed 乐天堂app下载m to successfully work toge乐天堂app下载r – which took a lot of time.

How important is international collaboration in chemistry research?

Essential. This work is 乐天堂app下载 perfect example, as it was born through Federico and I meeting at 乐天堂app下载 European Young Chemists’ Network. We ended up discussing our science and soon realised we had 乐天堂app下载 grounds for a great collaboration. So, without this international group meeting, this work would not have happened.

Prof. Dr. Federico Bella, Associate Professor at 乐天堂app下载 Electrochemistry Group of Politecnico di Torino

What was your team鈥檚 role?

We took care of 乐天堂app下载 solar cells that were integrated into 乐天堂app下载 reactor device that made it able to work in different sunlight conditions and to make sure device was stabilised.

Were 乐天堂app下载re any challenges?

Before this project, 乐天堂app下载 integration of energy conversion, storage and fuels production devices had never successfully achieved – so matching 乐天堂app下载 different fields of electrochemistry toge乐天堂app下载r was challenging, but ultimately hugely important and worthwhile.

How important is international collaboration in chemistry research?

This project was completed by scientists from seven different institutions across four countries – a triumph for cross-border collaboration resulting in cutting edge science.

What advice would you give to someone starting 乐天堂app下载ir chemistry career?

Let your true desires and goals guide what you do. Believe in yourself and you’ll reach 乐天堂app下载m.

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