CURRENT AFFAIRS

Detailed explanation-1: -Scientists from Harvard University have created a unique “bionic leaf” that uses solar energy to split water molecules into oxygen and hydrogen, and hydrogen-eating bacteria to produce liquid fuels from CO2.

Detailed explanation-2: -History. In 2009 at MIT, Daniel Nocera’s lab first developed the “artificial leaf", a device made from silicon and an anode electrocatalyst for the oxidation of water, capable of splitting water into hydrogen and oxygen gases.

Detailed explanation-3: -The bionic leaf is an outgrowth of Nocera’s artificial leaf, which efficiently splits water into hydrogen and oxygen gas by pairing silicon-the material that makes up solar panels-with catalyst coatings.

Detailed explanation-4: -Royal College of Art graduate Julian Melchiorri has created the first man-made, biologically functional leaf that takes in carbon dioxide, water, and light and releases oxygen. The leaf consists of chloroplasts–the part of a plant cell where photosynthesis happens–suspended in body made of silk protein.

Detailed explanation-5: -A new artificial leaf is light enough to float on water, where it can soak up sunlight and carbon dioxide from air, and use the water below to produce fuels. Researchers at Cambridge University tested their 100-square-centimeter artificial-leaf device outdoors on a river.