Artificial Photosynthesis: Solar Fuels

目标和重大挑战：开发可扩展、高效和低强度耐受的太阳能收集系统是当今最大的科学挑战之一。在这项研究方案中，我们建议探索一种大胆而创新的方法，利用太阳能同时发电和固定二氧化碳，生产一种可以生产甲醇或类似原料的太阳能燃料电池(这是长期~10年的目标)。这是一个极具挑战性的问题，在这项研究中，我们将把格拉斯哥化学和电气工程的研究人员、现有生物能源研究(细菌光合作用、植物分子生物学)的研究人员以及来自美国、日本和德国的这一领域的主要国际小组聚集在一起，探索将概念从自然光合作用转移到固态设备的想法。在这项研究中，我们将从光合作用中学习如何在固定环境中将光收集/反应中心单元安排在表面上，以使用无机/有机化学方法组装高效和广谱的光收集设备。因此，通过将化学(模型体系、超分子化学、光活性单元和金属酶模型)与电气工程(表面图案化、光刻和表面结构操纵)和分子生物学(结构生物学、生物电子转移和膜结合蛋白质)的研究相结合，我们将制定一个具有这一宏伟目标的重大和长期的跨学科研究计划。最终，这项研究的成功可能会使可持续的碳中性经济的发展遏制住化石燃料燃烧导致的大气中不断上升的二氧化碳水平。这将对限制全球变暖产生重大影响，同时确保我们的能源需求--这是DTI CAT和斯特恩评论报告指出的一个主要问题。

Aims and Grand Challenges: The development of scaleable, efficient, and low intensity-tolerant solar energy harvesting systems represents one of the greatest scientific challenges today. In this research proposal we propose to explore a bold and innovative approach that uses solar energy to both generate energy and fix carbon dioxide in one step, to produce a type of solar fuel cell which would yield methanol or similar feedstock (this is the long term ~10 year aim). This is an extremely challenging problem and in this study we will bring to together researchers in Chemistry and Electrical Engineering in Glasgow, with those in existing Bio-energy research (Bacterial Photosynthesis, Plant Molecular Biology) along with the key international groups in this area from the USA, Japan, and Germany, to explore the idea of transferring concepts from natural photosynthesis to solid state devices. In this research we will learn from Photosynthesis how to arrange light harvesting/reaction centre units on a surface in an immobilised environment to assemble highly efficient and broad spectrum light harvesting devices using inorganic/organic chemistry approaches. Therefore by combining research from Chemistry (Model systems, supramolecular chemistry, and photoactive units and metalloenzyme models) with Electrical Engineering (Surface patterning, lithography, and surface structure manipulation) and Molecular Biology (Structural biology, biological electron transfer, and membrane bound proteins) we will develop a major and long term interdisciplinary research program with this grand aim. Ultimately, success in this research could allow the development of a sustainable carbon neutral economy arresting the increasing CO2 levels in the atmosphere from fossil fuel burning. This will have a major impact limiting global warming whilst securing our energy needs - a major issue identified by the DTI CAT and Stern Review reports.