It does not convert the sun's energy into electrical energy, as ordinary photovoltaic cells do. The new solar cell developed by a research group at the University of Illinois in Chicago replicates what happens in nature with plants, namely photosynthesis.

In practice, the innovative cell captures carbon dioxide and, instead of producing sugars – used by cells as fuel – produces hydrogen and carbon monoxide. These are fuels that are ready to use or can be converted into other gases, produced by the reduction of CO2.

The research published in Science

The research was coordinated by Amin Salehi-Khojin, assistant professor at Uic, who explains to Phys.org: "The new solar cell is not photovoltaic: it is photosynthetic. Instead of producing energy in an unsustainable one-way journey from fossil fuels to greenhouse gas emissions, we can now reverse the process and recycle atmospheric carbon into fuel using sunlight."

A possible solution to CO2 emissions

The significance of the discovery – not the absolute first of its kind – is evidently enormous. On the one hand, it would help to "recycle" excess CO2 in the atmosphere. On the other, it would make possible the production of alternative fuels of non-fossil origin.

But chemical reactions of this kind are expensive and difficult to achieve on an industrial scale. This is why the team led by Salehi-Khojin found a faster route, 20 times less costly, to achieve the right chemical reaction at reasonable prices, using nanomaterials defined as transition metal dichalcogenides. In this specific case, tungsten was used.

The researchers' confidence is such that they envisage the technology being applied both on a small scale and in larger installations, such as full-scale solar plants capable of capturing carbon dioxide while simultaneously producing an alternative fuel.