Artificial Photosynthesis

1994/01/01 Elhuyar Zientzia Iturria: Elhuyar aldizkaria

• Energia

Michael Graetzel, professor at the Polytechnic School of Lausanne in Switzerland, has artificially carried out the photosynthesis process of plants and has opened an interesting path of research in the field of solar energy. The performance of your system is equivalent to conventional silicon photovoltaic cells, but with a manufacturing cost ten times lower.

Chlorophyll is replaced by a thin layer of dye connected to a semiconductor (titanium dioxide). The photon emitted by light rays absorbs dyes before “interaction” with titanium dioxide, releasing electrons from atoms. These electrons are immediately transported to the transparent conductive layer.

Currently, the yields obtained in the laboratory exceed 10% and this procedure has caused the industry the appearance of some rents. However, every watt currently produced with solar energy is much more expensive than that obtained in classic power plants.