In order to combat the growing issue of fossil fuel consumption, scientists have looked deeper into the field of artificial photosynthesis.  Daily, in the U.S., the daily residential intake is around 63 MMBtu and considering a population of 8 billion people, that number is expected to be in the hundreds of billions. With this method, that number can be reduced by a large margins.

The approach the scientist are taking involved creatine energy dense fuels through photosynthetic processes. Rather than creating carbohydrates like traditional plants do, this method looks to create methane or ethanol which would renew fossil fuels. The team made use of MOFs (metal organic frameworks) and their ability to maximize surface area to create a solution with cobalt and amino acids.

Amino acids are proteins and proteins are typically recognized as catalysts of reactions; in particular, enzymes serve this function. Therefore by including these proteins in the solution,  the efficiency of the photosynthetic reactions - splitting water into hydrogen and oxygen, and splitting carbon dioxide into carbon and oxygen - increases.

However, despite these improvements, artificial photosynthesis is still at its initial steps. A lot more tests and experiments have to be conducted before it can be used in a larger system. The current system is miniscule compared to what is needed. Yet, this isn’t to overshadow the many benefits that artificial photosynthesis can bring. 

This process shed light on new ways to conduct chemical reactions, benefiting both the pharmaceutical and materials manufacturing industries. Moreover, it provides a clearer understanding of the molecular system, creating a significant advancement in the field. It comes to show the value this new innovation can bring to the table and eventually to the global scale. 

https://news.uchicago.edu/story/chemists-create-artificial-photosynthesis-system-10-times-more-efficient-existing-systems