Going Solar with Gold
University of Californa - Berkeley Creates Solar Fuel from Gold + Bacteria Source: University of California - Berkeley The Midas Touch University of California Berkeley researchers have just demonstrated a novel and efficient means of creating biofuels. They've placed gold nanoclusters that absorb light into a bacterium. A biohybrid results that produces a high yield of chemical products like biofuels. It's a new source of sustainable energy. High Value Biohybrid The biohybrid captures sunlight and carbon dioxide to make chemicals useful both on earth and in space. It's a breakthrough discovery and has just been published in the journal Nature Nanotechnology. Artificial Photosynthesis Producing Solar Fuels The bacterium is photosensitive and is named Moorella thermoacetica. It has an appetite for gold. The researchers feed it a nanocluster of 22 gold atoms. The gold slips through the cell wall. With great efficiency, it produces solar fuels through