Scientists have taken the first steps towards controlling photosynthesis using mirrors

With the help of mirrors, which are only hundreds of nanometers apart, scientists have succeeded in harnessing light in an efficient way. This discovery could be useful for controlling the first steps of photosynthesis. Something that could eventually be used to convert carbon dioxide into fuel.

The sunlight hitting our Earth for an hour is almost equal to the total energy consumption of humanity for a whole year. At the same time, our global carbon dioxide emissions are increasing. Harnessing the sun’s energy to capture greenhouse gases and then convert them into fuel is a hot area of ​​research. In a previous study, a research team in Lund was able to show that with the help of advanced materials and ultrafast laser spectroscopy, levels of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere can be reduced in the long term. And in a study published in the scientific journal Nature Communications, Lundaledda’s research team breaks new ground when it comes to making use of light.

– We have inserted so-called antenna collectors between two mirrors only a few hundred nanometers apart in an optical micro gap. You could say that we capture the light that bounces back and forth between the mirrors in a kind of captivity, says Tono Poleretz, a research chemist at Lund University.

The study showed that there is a strong interaction between the light and antenna complexes. He could create rings on the water that could speed up the energy transfer process. For a so-called photovoltaic assembly to function optimally, and be used to produce fuel, for example, all steps in the complex process must be highly efficient.

– If we can take the first steps in photosynthesis faster and more efficiently, we also hope to make photovoltaic energy from other units more efficient, says Tono Pollerets.

So how can these results be useful? Tönu Pullerits hopes this discovery can be used in the future to develop larger units that could be used globally to harness the sun to absorb carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and convert it into useful chemicals. It could be one of the many solutions to overcome the climate crisis we are facing.

We have now taken a few first steps on a long journey. You can say that we have identified a very promising direction, says Tono Pollerets.

In addition to Lund University, the following universities and organizations participated in the study: Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, University of Gothenburg, University of Glasgow.

The study was published in Nature Communications: Cavity-mediated photoexciton dynamics in photosynthetic light collectors 2.

For more information, please contact:

Tono Pollerets, Professor

Department of Chemistry, Lund University

046222 81 31

0768 37 26 03

[email protected]

Media communication:

[email protected]

073027 58 90