The team of scientists have developed a chemical process that converts sunlight, water and carbon dioxide into acetate and oxygen to produce high-value fuels and chemicals powered by renewable energy. This is achieved by having bacteria grown on a synthetic semiconductor device known as a photocatalyst sheet. The photocatalyst sheet oxidizes water to oxygen (O₂) and provides electrons and hydrogen (H₂) to the bacteria (Sporomusa ovata) for the selective synthesis of acetate (CH₃COO^–) from carbobdioxide (CO₂).

Press release: https://www.northumbria.ac.uk/about-us/news-events/news/new-technology-can-help-combat-climate-crisis/

Article: Wang, Q., Kalathil, S., Pornrungroj, C. et al. Bacteria–photocatalyst sheet for sustainable carbon dioxide utilization. Nat Catal 5, 633–641 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41929-022-00817-z