The bionic leaf (artificial leaf v.2) combines the hydrogen delivered from solar-driven water splitting (artificial leaf v.1) with carbon dioxide from air in a bioengineered organism to produce biomass and liquid fuels, thus closing an entire artificial photosynthetic cycle that is ten times more efficient than natural photosynthesis. The carbon-fixing pathway of the bionic leaf may be followed by labeling studies with 13C-enriched CO2. A rapid response of the bacteria to convert CO2 into biomass with minimal catabolism of the engineered bacteria contribute to the high efficiency of the bionic leaf.

Carbon-fixation pathway of the bionic leaf

255th National Meeting (2018)

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