Biology of Plants: Making Food

Photosynthesis is a biological process in which sunlight is used to prepare the nutrients for the plant with the help of the green pigment, i.e, chlorophyll. However, when the sun sets there is no way that the plant can prepare their meal. It now becomes a technology which mimics the photosynthesis the process is called artificial photosynthesis. Artificial photosynthesis is definitely worth exploring, it uses nano-sized light-sensitive materials will be converted to light energy, resulting in oxidoreductase reaction. In short, it is a useful technology that uses light energy to produce the same chemicals as in natural process.

In natural way, the chlorophyll present in leaves absorbs sunlight; couple of enzymes and other proteins uses this light to split water molecules into hydrogen, electrons and oxygen (protons). Electrons and hydrogen are used to convert carbon dioxide into nutrients for the plant, and oxygen is transferred into the atmosphere.The energy from the sunlight converts into the chemical energy due to which it becomes more suitable for its storage.

In this conversion, side products are not yielded like the greenhouse gases. But, in the process carbon dioxide can be utilized in the same way as it does in plants.  For artificial photosynthesis, there are 2 main steps- the ability to collect solar energy, and the ability to split water molecules. Scientists first used a cobalt metal, phosphorus, and indium-tin-oxide electrode placed in water to create a new catalytic device that relies on current generated by external sources of energy (such as solar energy, wind energy, etc.

), A catalyst flowing through the electrode and consisting of cobalt and phosphoric acid, using the catalytic action of cobalt and phosphorus leads water to produce hydrogen and oxygen which are collected at both poles. the energy produced by the mixture of hydrogen and oxygen can be stored in proton exchange membrane fuel cells, enabling uninterrupted power supply both day and night. But splitting the water molecule is not so simple; it requires about two and a half electron volts of energy. Therefore, we need a catalyst that “pushes” the chemical reaction.The Artificial Leaf Project and MIT’s Artificial Photosynthesis Research are all devoted to solving the process of converting water to organic matter and releasing hydrogen and oxygen, creating a leaf that resembles the greenery of nature even more than it Optimized device to become a highly efficient solar energy conversion device. However, the research process is very difficult, but also very challenging. Researchers in this process have done many experiments, such as they have tried to use other raw materials as a catalyst, although it can catalyze the hydrolysis reaction, the effect is not as expected, only through so many experiments to add other Material, can we expect catalytic efficiency can be improved.

In addition, from an environmental and practical point of view, the construction of billions of artificial plants can be far less feasible than sowing seeds for several well-chosen biofuels. On the other hand, these plants often require good soil, which deteriorates rapidly due to agricultural pressure. Biofuels have already been suspected of using land that could feed a growing population. Plus artificial photosynthesis is that you can see how these “plants” thrive in the desert or even in the ocean.