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A sheet capable of producing liquid fuel has been created
Last reviewed: 02.07.2025
The bionic leaf is a new discovery by Harvard specialists. The peculiarity of this leaf is that it is capable of producing alcohol.
Specialists from Harvard Medical School, the Institute of Biotechnology Engineering, and others worked on the creation of the new leaf.
The bionic leaf is a combined system based on one of the studies of Dr. Daniel Nocera, who invented the world's first artificial leaf capable of producing oxygen by absorbing carbon dioxide and water, and a solar device that produces hydrogen when immersed in water.
Currently, hydrogen is obtained mainly from natural gas, so a more sustainable method of obtaining this chemical element can be considered an important source that may be used in the near future.
The Harvard team has developed a system based on previous research that uses bacteria to convert solar energy into liquid fuel. The work is closely related to the work of Daniel Nocera, which relies on the use of a catalyst. The scientists used sunlight as a catalyst to split water, producing oxygen, hydrogen, and also took a special bacterium that converted carbon dioxide and hydrogen into isopropyl alcohol.
The basis of the work was photosynthesis, which plants use to convert carbon dioxide, water, etc. into energy, but the specialists introduced some chemical features into this process.
According to Dr. Nocera, the catalysts he created are well-suited to the growth conditions that are important for bacteria. The sun's energy acts as a catalyst and helps split water into oxygen and hydrogen, then bacteria enter the process, combining carbon dioxide with hydrogen to form isopropyl alcohol, which can be used as a regular fuel, but is more often used in alcohol-based detergents and disinfectants.
Harvard Medical School specialist Pamela Silver noted that this work can be regarded as proof that solar energy can be converted into matter.
The research group plans to increase the system's energy efficiency to 5%.
Isopropyl alcohol is obtained in the process of oil refining, which is based on propene, a by-product that is obtained during the production of gasoline; another source of propene can be coal.
Isopropyl alcohol is practically not used in modern conditions, but together with hydrogen produced using solar energy, it could well replace petroleum products and other fossil fuels in the future.
The researchers particularly emphasize the fact that isopropyl alcohol-based fuel is environmentally friendly. However, according to some experts, this type of fuel produces a lot of smoke when burning, which does not allow it to be used in portable burners with an open fire.
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