HARVESTING ORIENTED LIGHT FOR WATER SPLITTING

摘要

A photosynthetic system for splitting water to produce hydrogen and using the produced hydrogen for the reduction of carbon dioxide into methane is disclosed. The disclosed photosynthetic system employs photoactive materials that include oriented photocatalytic capped colloidal nanocrystals (PCCN) within their composition, in order to harvest sunlight and obtain the energy necessary for water splitting and subsequent carbon dioxide reduction processes. The photosynthetic system may also include elements necessary to transfer water produced in the carbon dioxide reduction process, for subsequent use in water splitting process. The systems may also include elements necessary to store oxygen and collect and transfer methane for subsequent transformation of methane into energy.