Photo: floating artificial leaf in the River Cam
University of Cambridge Researchers have developed a new lightweight, flexible device using solar technology to convert light into fuel. Just 1mm thick and foldable, the ultra-thin ‘leaves’ can float on water almost anywhere. These solar fuel cells draw on energy from sunlight to stimulate chemical reactions that produce fuel, emulating photosynthesis, the process by which plants convert sunlight into food. The devices make ‘syngas’-a type of fuel used in production of chemicals and pharmaceuticals. Thin-film metal oxides and ‘perovskites’ (materials that can both capture energy from light and be coated onto flexible plastic) make the “leaves” light enough to float.