ARTIFICIAL PHOTOSYNTHESIS:
Marriage of Nature and Electronics
D.Ramesh Babu,
3rd ECE,
Gudlavalleru engineering college,
gudlavalleru,
Krishna dist,
Andhra Pradesh.
ramdas_321@yahoo.co.in
ABSTARCT
Photosynthesis is the process by which plant survives and
acts as a greatest sink for carbon dioxide. This paper
shows that how a photosynthesis reaction in plants takes
place artificially with the help of electronic components.
This paper starts with introducing the basic reactions that
occurs in plant in the process of photosynthesis. Next it
gives information about photovoltaic cell. This paper also
deals four steps describing the process of Artificial
photosynthesis (AFP). First is the chlorophyll in a leaf is
replaced with a photovoltaic cell which release electrons
when exited by solar energy. Second step is to split water
molecule where as artificially it is done with biomimetric
engineering by fabricating new core with new geometry
for splitting of water molecule. The third step that bio-
energy transfer that occurs because of adenosine
triphosphate (ATP) and sodium diphosphate (NADPH).
The last process is to convert CO2 to other organic
components. Then it goes to micro fabrication of AFP.
1.0 INTRODUCTION
It is still unclear where most of our energy will come
from in the longer-term future. Solar power cannot
produce industrial quantities of electricity, while the tide
is turning against wind turbines because they spoil the
landscape and too many would be needed to replace
conventional generators. Nuclear energy remains in the
doldrums. Fossil fuels continue to threaten global
warming.
But a promising new contender is emerging: the
harnessing of photosynthesis, the mechanism by which
plants derive their energy. The idea is to create artificial
systems that exploit the basic chemistry of photosynthesis
in order to produce hydrogen or other fuels both for
engines and electricity. Hydrogen burns cleanly, yielding
just water and energy. There is also the additional benefit
that AFP could mop up any excess carbon dioxide left
over from our present era of profligate fossil fuel
consumption.
B.Venkata Mohan,
3rd ECE,
Gudlavalleru engineering college,
gudlavalleru,
Krishna dist,
Andhra Pradesh.
ramme_comunicate@rediffmail.com
As we learned in school, photosynthesis is the process by
which plants extract energy from sunlight to produce
carbohydrates and ultimately proteins and fats from
carbon dioxide and water, releasing oxygen into the
atmosphere as a by-product. The evolution of
photosynthesis in its current form made animal life
possible by producing the oxygen we breathe and the
carbon-based foods we eat. Photosynthesis does this on a
massive scale, converting about 1,000bn metric tons of
Carbon dioxide into organic matter each year, yielding
about 700bn metric tons of oxygen [1].
2.0 WHAT IS PHOTOSYNTHESIS?
Photosynthesis is the process of converting light energy
to chemical energy and storing it in the bonds of sugar.
This process occurs in plants and some algae. Plants need
only light energy, CO2, and H2O to make sugar. The
process of photosynthesis takes place in the chloroplasts,
specifically using chlorophyll, the green pigment
involved in photosynthesis. Chlorophyll looks green
because it absorbs red and blue light, making these colors
unavailable to be seen by our eyes.
Natural photosynthesis carries out the following overall
reaction in the carbon fixation process:
CO2 + H2O + [Light Energy] => O2 + Carbohydrate
(This is the source of the O2 we breathe.)
When a pigment absorbs light energy, the energy can
either be dissipated as heat, emitted at a longer
wavelength as fluorescence, or it can trigger a chemical
reaction. Certain membranes and structures in
photosynthetic organisms serve as the structural units of
photosynthesis because chlorophyll will only participate
in chemical reactions when the molecule is associated
with proteins embedded in a membrane. Photosynthesis is
a two-stage process, and in organisms that have
chloroplasts, two different areas of these structures house
the individual processes. A light-dependent process
(often termed light reactions) takes place in the grana,
while a second light-independent process (dark reactions)
subsequently occurs in the stroma of chloroplasts. It is
believed that the dark reactions can take place in the
absence of light as long as the energy carriers developed
in the light reactions are present.
The first stage of photosynthesis occurs when the energy
from light is directly utilized to produce energy carrier
molecules, such as ATP and NADPH. However, an
important protein in that process is Rubisco. In this stage,
water is split into its components, and oxygen is released
as a by-product. The energized transportation vehicles are
subsequently utilized in the second and most fundamental
stage of the photosynthetic process: production of carbon-
to-carbon covalent bonds. The second stage does not
require illumination (a dark process), and is responsible
for providing the basic nutrition for the plant cell, as well
as building materials for cell walls and other components.
In the process, carbon dioxide is fixed along with
hydrogen to form carbohydrates, a family of
biochemical’s that contain equal numbers of carbon atoms
and water molecules. Overall, the photosynthetic process
does not allow living organisms to directly utilize light
energy, but instead involves energy capture in the first
stage followed by a second stage of complex biochemical
reactions that converts the energy into chemical bonds.
3.0 WHAT IS AFP?
Figure 1 Schematic representation of a light-harvesting
complex and reaction centre
Figure 1 gives an overview of the process of AFP. Energy
in the form of light is collected by a series of
chromophores that absorb light of progressively longer
wavelength (lower energy) at each successive level. A
large number of chromophores at each energy level
increase the probability of light absorption and with
proper placement of the chromophores, the excitation
energy, where it is collected at a single spot, the reaction
centre. Electron transfer to an electron acceptor (A)
creates an initial charge separation. Subsequent transfer
of an electron from an electron donor (D) to the reaction
centre creates the final charge-separated state. The
electron and corresponding "hole" formed by the loss of
an electron may then be used for chemical reactions, be it
the production of ATP and O2 in natural systems, or H2
and O2 in artificial systems. The benefits of both natural
and artificial systems are clear: sunlight is converted into
useful forms of energy [2].
Chemical reactions need energy in the form of electrons
moving at high speeds to power them, in other words an
electrical potential or voltage. Plants are in effect solar
cells converting light into electrical energy. But for this to
be sustainable, plants need a constant source of electrons,
and this has to be an element or compound already
present in the plant.
It takes about 2.5 volts to break a single water molecule
down into oxygen along with negatively charged
electrons and positively charged protons. It is the
extraction and separation of these oppositely charged
electrons and protons from water molecules that provide
the electric power. In plants, chlorophylls evolved to
harvest light, and a complex labyrinth of proteins to
conduct the photons to a suitable centre where this crucial
water-splitting takes place. In plants, oxygen is the only
by-product of this process, but researchers realized some
years ago that the reaction could be tweaked to produce
hydrogen as well. Still, tweaking photosynthesis to
produce hydrogen rather than electrical energy is the easy
bit.
Thus the requirement of potential energy as well as
negative and positive electrons we need a device that
fulfills these requirements which are satisfied through
photo voltaic cell. Organic cells are much preferred as
they are light in weight and thin in structure helping to
make nano pieces.
4.0 PHOTOVOLTAIC CELL
A photovoltaic cell uses semiconductor material to
transform light into electrical energy. Photons from light
hitting the material excite electrons, releasing them from
their atoms into the material. Once electrons are excited,
they are able to move freely within the material. The
semi-conductor then serves to force the electrons in the
desired directions. By creating a junction of a p and n
type semiconductor, an electrical potential is created. The
electrons move from the n-type to the p-type. Meanwhile,
the positively charged atoms move from the p-type to the
n-type. As a result, the n-type material gains a positive
charge and the p-type gains a negative charge. When an
electrical circuit connects the p-type and n-type ends,
difference in electrical potential is created which results in
current. Figure 2 shows the operation of photovoltaic cell.
This type of cell can be manufactured in many different
ways. A monocrystalline semi conductor is much like the
ideal type described above. It has a pure p type crystal
placed on a pure n type semiconductor crystal. This type
of cell is the most efficient in terms of turning energy into
electricity. But, it is expensive to manufacture because it
is costly to produce large crystals of semiconductor
material. A far more cost effective material to produce is
polycrystalline cells. These consist of small grains of
crystals randomly oriented to each other. Because the
smaller crystals, much easier to manufacture, are simply
placed together it is much cheaper. However, energy is
lost as electrons must maneuver between the different
crystals. This form of cells results in a lower efficiency.
However, because it is the most economically efficient, it
is used today. [3]
5.0 PROCESS TO DO AFP
5.1 First step
In nature, photosynthesis is the process by which plants
take light, water, and carbon dioxide, and transform them
into energy and food. There are four main steps needed to
be mimicked in order for AFP to work. First, a way to
harvest the solar energy, or light from the sun, must be
found. Currently, there seems to be two major rivaling
processes: silicon technology versus organic
photovoltaics. The latter refers to a process that would
imitate the natural process by using material analogous to
chlorophyll. Basically, this material would be a thing
membrane that captures the light and then passes the
photons on to the next step. At the present, the silicon
technology produces up to 33% efficiency in converting
the sun into electricity [4]. This process basically uses
micro solar panels. Even though they have only been
able to reach as high as 8% with organic photovoltaics its
potential efficiency is better than what can be done with
silicon technology. Indeed it is more efficient for light
absorption to have these thin layers of organic
photovoltaics, what better way to paint them on than with
a digital fabrication technique such as a nano form of
continuous deposition. The digital data would provide
the accuracy needed for a uniform thickness while
fabbing the appropriate mixture of materials to mimic
chlorophyll. This process of course would not become
available until digital fabrication was able to perform on
the nanoscale.
5.2 Second Step
The second process needed to be mimicked is modifying
the process by which the plant uses the photon to split the
water molecule into hydrogen and oxygen. Up until
recently, attempts at replicating this process in the
laboratory had failed because it has to be extremely
balanced in order to get the geometry just right. In an
original plant there is a “complex labyrinth of proteins to
conduct the photons to a suitable centre where this crucial
water-splitting takes place [5]. A recent breakthrough
discovered the precise location and arrangement of
molecules that made this water molecule location of just
a few splitting possible. It is identified the precise critical
molecules of manganese, oxygen and calcium within the
core of the plant’s photosynthesis engine where the
water-splitting is performed.
Hence to perform this artificially there is a need to
fabricate the whole environment on a chip which can be
done through nanotechnology. Fabricating the films and
paths for the photons to pass through and follow is a
crucial step before it reaches the core, but being able to
fabricate perfect geometry of the core would be
invaluable which is known as “biomimetric” [6]. Nano
digital fabrication would be a major break through on this
level as can be seen by the advancement in the
implementation of AF that would takes place.
5.3 Third Step
The third step that needs to be mimicked is the “bio-
energy” transfer that occurs because of ATP and
NADPH, which has had slow progress. However, an
important protein in that process is Rubisco, which
actually waterproofs the reaction site which is selective
for carbon dioxide. If that part of the protein which is
there solely to waterproof the site could be artificially
fabricated allowing the rest of the protein to be downsized
in order to speed up the process, it would be a major
breakthrough. So far, no process is accurate or efficient
enough to accomplish this.
Could digital fabrication of this area be the answer? It
would have to occur for each reaction of carbon dioxide.
This would not be something that would be able to be
fabricated into an object or circuit as mentioned before,
but would rather have to be done constantly under a nano-
fabber. This does not mean that this process is any less
important as stated before the results would be
astounding. The process would flow in perhaps
greenhouse labs where solar panels would collect the sun
light, transfer the protons, split the water molecule, and
when the time came for the Rubisco protein to surround
the carbon dioxide a special organic membrane could be
fabbed around the reaction site as a genetically altered
Rubisco catalyzed the process now more efficiently.
5.4 Fourth step
Finally, the last process is converting the carbon dioxide
into other products. This area has a long way to go, but
when accomplished will be able to produce proteins for
food, alcohols for fuel, and chemical intermediates. The
applications of AFP are vast and carry life changing
benefits, but it will take digital fabrication to bring them
about.
6.0 FABBING AFP INTO MICROCIRCUITS
So for this process of AFP, digital fabrication could build
the “antenna” structure that captures the light (similar to a
solar panel), and already coat it with the artificial material
that would replace the chlorophyll. As stated before these
organic photovoltaics mimicking chlorophyll would need
to be “painted” on in thin layers onto these antennas. An
example of how digital fabrication would perform this can
be seen from its example of building a couch. Original
manufacturing process of a couch would flow from
building the frame, then attaching cushy material, and
then covering that material with choice fabric. However,
digital manufacturing of a couch would not flow the
same. It would not build it part by part, but rather it
would start from the ground and work its way up simply
changing the material it was using to build as it went
along. For example, it might start with wood for the
frame, then when it reached what would be the cushion
material it would simply change the material or material
property that it was building with one that had squishable
yet resilient properties.
Figure3 : fabbing of microcircuit.
Likewise when it came to what would be the fabric to
cover the chair cushion it would switch to a material that
could enclose and protect the previous material, with
properties that were tough and resistant, yet comfortable.
Now, analogous to this process would be many processes
on the nano and micro level such as the antenna and the
organic photovoltaic. The nano digital fabricator might
start out with a base material for the antenna and then
switch to the organic photovoltaic material that would in
essence be like being painted on to any surface needed.
[7]
7.0 APPLICATIONS
¾ The main aim behind developing this process of
AFP is that where the photosynthesis is process
of preparing food with CO2, sunlight and water
thus AFP is a mimic to natural one and prepares
food from sunlight, water and CO2 available in
atmosphere thus reducing the content of CO2 in
atmosphere. Thus becoming as an artificial sinks
and saves from Green house effect.
¾ Byproducts of the process could be a valuable
alternative fuel, methane, or even food in the
form of starches and sugars.
¾ If a digitally manufactured product that could
perform photosynthesis existed, it would not
only help to reduce the Greenhouse effect, but
would also reduce pollution as well as create
alternative food and fuel sources.
¾ In the process of AFP, digital manufacturing
would not only have to fab the artificial
materials necessary for the process, but also in
essence program them to perform this process
by working together. For example, the fabber
would need to manufacture the nanotube [8] that
sucks in the air, the nano solar panel that takes
in the light, then the chemical dispenser that is
added to the mix for a chemical reaction of CO2
and O2 and energy or food, and an output tube,
and then set it all up before finally hitting the
 run button. Furthermore, microcircuits will need artificial photosynthesis can only be performed in the
to be fabed on all the nano photosynthesis plants laboratory, but it is hypothesized that digital fabrication
in order to drive the photosynthesis process by will be the process that moves it from the laboratory to
instruction the process of artificial. the rest of the world, and then the sky is the limit. Nano
¾ Using nanotechnology to create natural digital fabrication might not solve the problem on how to
processes such as photosynthesis is of critical make the ATP and NADPH storage molecules, or how to
significance to the future of our world. Since artificially convert carbon dioxide to other carbon
photosynthesis is the basis of our food and products (both processes yet to be successfully
energy supply; a supply which is running accomplished), but when those problems are solved,
increasingly short in our “space-age” world, digital fabrication will be the key to implementing them
finding ways to artificially create this process into electronic circuits, devices, and other process that
using digital manufacturing should be of utmost will greatly improve the quality of life for everyone.
importance. This, together with novel uses of
photosynthetic principles for other purposes, 9.0 REFERENCES
make it likely that photosynthesis and its
applications will help to shape an increasingly [1] Prospect Magazine by Philip Hunter or
broad area of exciting discoveries and innovative www.futurehi.net.
ideas. [2] www.mapageweb.com
¾ But the harnessing of photosynthesis, the [3] www.eere.energy.gov/solar/photovoltaics.html
mechanism by which plants derive their [4] www.abc.net.au/rn/science/buzz/stories.html
energy, shows much potential in solving this [5] www.futurehi.net/archieves/000159.html
energy problem. By creating artificial systems [6] www.geocites.com/flipy_nicki.html
that exploit the basic chemistry of [7] www.ioffe.rssi.com
photosynthesis, additional processes will thus be [8] www.personal.rdg.ac.uk
made in order to produce hydrogen or other fuels [9] www.vafps.org/e-commercefuzzy.html
both for engines and electricity. Since hydrogen
burns cleanly, it yields only water and energy.
AFP could also “mop up” any excess carbon
dioxide left over from our present era of
“profligate fossil fuel consumption.
¾ If the Rubisco molecule could be made smaller,
more efficient, and faster the benefits would be
incredible,“…if we can improve the efficiency of
Rubisco from 1.5% to 1.6% and introduce this
into crops just the benefits to mankind in terms
of higher production, better turnover rate in
agriculture, would be absolutely mind-boggling.
¾ A major advancement in digital manufacturing
technology is the actual fabrication of food one
day [9].

8.0 DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS

Use [1] and [4] for calibrations of photosynthesis by a
plant and of silicon. Use [2] for articles of AFP. Then [3]
gives complete details of photovoltaic cell. Refer [5] for
artificial ways of splitting water molecule. [6] Gives
details about biomimetric process. Reference [7] is there
to show the fabbing techniques. Go to [8] for details of
nanotubes. Last but not least refer [9] for food fabrication.

Could micro or nano digital fabrication be the break

through process by which these artificial photosynthesis
reaction centers will finally be able to be implemented
into electronic circuits? Currently, the process of