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Artificial Photosynthesis Device Turns Sunlight Into Fuel

By R. Siva Kumar | Update Date: Dec 01, 2015 09:16 AM EST

Scientists are almost able to do a plant now. They have created an artificial photosynthesis technology device.

Researchers at Florida State University, said in a press release  that a research team has made a single-layer manganese oxide material in order to effectively capture sunlight, which can be broken into hydrogen and oxygen.

The study  was led by Jose L. Mendoza-Cortes.

"In theory, this should be a self-sustaining energy source," he said. "Perhaps in the future, you could put this material on your roof and it could turn rain water into energy with the help of the sun."

Interestingly, it creates energy but no waste or side-effects. "You won't generate carbon dioxide or waste," he said.

Moreover, just a small amount of the single-layer manganese oxide material is required in order to capture sunlight. This contravenes another common material, silicon, that might be effective, but needs hundreds of pieces in order to be effective.

"This is why the discovery of this direct band gap material is so exciting," said Mendoza-Cortes. "It is cheap, it is efficient and you do not need a large amount to capture enough sunlight to carry out fuel generation."

The technology has to be developed more before it can be integrated into home-based products, yet it can be used for real-world application to enable hydrogen-fueled cars create their energy supply and also support homes that have "special roofs".

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