New Molecule Makes Artificial Photosynthesis Close To Reality

Replacing Natural Photosynthesis

Directly or indirectly, a massive amount of the energy we use has been produced through photosynthesis.

This is, of course, true of the calories powering our bodies, but ultimately also of fossil fuels, which are just “stored” photosynthesis from plants that died eons ago.

So, many efforts to make our energy and food system greener have been dedicated to either improving natural photosynthesis or leveraging it for new uses, like creating biofuels from algae.

Building it at scale could prove crucial in limiting the rising CO2 concentration in the atmosphere.

But what if we could mimic the photosynthesis process without having to deal with living organisms? It is, after all, an electrochemical process that does not necessarily require living cells to happen. This is the promise of so-called “artificial photosynthesis”.

It would elevate our ability to capture the sun’s energy one step above photovoltaic, which can “only” create electricity out of sunlight, but not directly affect chemical reactions.

Some progress has been made, notably toward photosynthesis-like hydrogen production, but more work is needed for a closer replica.

How Photosynthesis Works in Nature

In plants, photosynthesis is, roughly speaking, in its simplest form. The process of taking in CO2 and water, using light as an energy source, and producing carbohydrates and oxygen.

Source: Britannica

At first glance, it seems that this can be reduced to a very simple chemical equation and could be easily replicated artificially.

Source: Britannica

It is another story when you look at how it is actually done.

Plant photosynthesis is actually one of the most complex biochemical machineries, with dozens of intermediary reactions, a myriad of sub-components, and sometimes not-so-well-understood molecular mechanisms involving elaborate electron movements.

The synthetic explanation of this topic in the Britannica encyclopedia is no less than 10,000 words.

Scientists studying it have to deal with rather more complex schematics to start having just an overview of photosynthesis:

Source: Lumen Learning

While mostly used in nature to create carbohydrates, photosynthesis could, in theory, be used for many other applications using light as an energy source, such as, for example, the synthesis of hydrogen out of water (photocatalysis).

A similar process of light-induced electron and ion movement could also be used to create sugars artificially. This is the idea on which three scientists are working at the University of Basel (Switzerland). They recently published in Nature Chemistry¹ their results regarding a new molecule that could be used for artificial photosynthesis, under the title “Photoinduced double charge accumulation in a molecular compound”.

Building Artificial Chlorophyll

Multi-Charge Molecules

Natural photosynthesis relies on a series of electrochemical reactions. As a result, it requires a so-called charge-separated state (CSS), where a molecule carries at the same time a positive and a negative charge.

Importantly, fuel-forming reactions require multiple electrons, not just one, which have so far been the best artificial photosynthesis systems could achieve.

For the reduction of CO2 in particular, multi-electron transfer appears to be essential, which is also why most of the artificial photosynthesis solutions so far have focused on hydrogen generation instead.

This is where the discovery by the Swiss researchers is changing things, with the creation of a special molecule that can generate and store four charges simultaneously under light irradiation – two positive ones and two negative ones.

Source: Nature

How Does It Work?

The molecule contains a center part that is sensitive to light and generates an electron move in response. The researchers took a sequential approach using two flashes of light.

The first flash of light hits the molecule and triggers a reaction in which a positive and a negative charge are generated, and move toward the opposite end of the molecule.

With the second flash of light, the same reaction occurs again, so that the molecule then contains two positive and two negative charges.

Source: Nature

Improved Light Sensitivity

The sequential step, using light in a 2-step process, is not only important to accumulate a double electrical charge on each end of the molecule, but also to reduce the energy required for each step, allowing it to function in lower light intensity than before.

Source: Nature

“As a result, we are already moving close to the intensity of sunlight.

Earlier research required extremely strong laser light, which was a far cry from the vision of artificial photosynthesis.”

Mathis Brändlin – PhD Student at Basel University

Why This Molecule Is a Key Step Forward

Another quality of this new molecule is that it retains its charge for a sufficiently long time to be used in powering further chemical reactions, a must-have for any complete artificial photosynthesis system.

“We have identified and implemented an important piece of the puzzle.

We hope that this will help us contribute to new prospects for a sustainable energy future.”

Pr. Oliver Wenger – Basel University

With 120 microseconds charge retention (a thousand to a million times better than before), this should be enough for chemical reactions, even if the ideal duration would be measured in seconds.

So compared to single-charge, or only one type of charge, photosensitive molecules tried in past experiments, this is the most promising molecule for developing artificial photosynthesis so far.

Further tweaks to the design could improve its ability to operate in natural light intensity or to retain the electrical charges for even longer.

The other key part of an artificial photosynthesis process that is yet to be designed is a pigment with high-energy excited states, as well as suitable catalysts to provide sufficient redox power for water splitting or CO2 reduction.

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Investing in Sustainable Innovation

DuPont

DuPont is a massive chemical company with many important branded chemicals, such as Kevlar, Styrofoam, Nomex (fire protection), Great Stuff (construction adhesive), etc.  Its advanced polymer research and protective material brands could position it to benefit from double-network metamaterial technologies.

DuPont is an ancient corporation with a complex history of acquisitions, and, more recently, a series of spin-offs.

Source: DuPont

These spinoffs have separated from DuPont the departments of nutrition and bioscience, partially sold to Corteva Biosciences (CTVA -0.95%), titanium products to form the Chemours Company (CC -1.05%), and mobility.

It will also separate from its electronic chemicals business in November 2025, but retain the water segment (membranes and filters for water purification and desalination), contrary to earlier plans.

Source: DuPont

This will leave DuPont a much more focused company, with a core activity in advanced polymers for water purification and protection equipment, as well as advanced materials for aerospace, healthcare, and electric vehicles.

Source: DuPont

DuPont is a truly international corporation, with high demand for specialty chemicals in water purification and industrial manufacturing.

The sectors served by DuPont chemicals are also very varied, including construction, water purification, the electronics industry, automotive, aerospace, healthcare, green energy, and industrial production.

Source: DuPont

Regarding artificial photosynthesis, the chemical company is working on the technology through partnerships with academia, notably with Penn University.

“The goal of this collaborative research is to develop a widely applicable computational protocol … to accelerate the selection of photoactive materials that can efficiently split water into hydrogen and oxygen.”

The strong presence of DuPont in protective equipment and the established position with the Kevlar brand, a high-performance polymer, should help it adapt new forms of metamaterials into commercial products. And its presence in green energy should help commercialize chemicals for the eventual artificial photosynthesis commercial process.

In any case, as new technologies are growing, as well as water consumption, so is the demand for the advanced chemicals produced by DuPont.

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Study Referenced

^{1. Brändlin, M., Pfund, B. & Wenger, O.S. Photoinduced double charge accumulation in a molecular compound. Nature. Chemistry. (2025). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41557-025-01912-x}