Scientists are getting closer to producing artificial photosynthesis. Science Daily is reporting that researchers with the U.S. Department of Energy’s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory have broken new ground with artificial photosynthesis with the discovery that nano-sized crystals of cobalt oxide can effectively carry out photosynthetic reaction of splitting water molecules.

“Photooxidation of water molecules into oxygen, electrons and protons (hydrogen ions) is one of the two essential half reactions of an artifical photosynthesis system – it provides the electrons needed to reduce carbon dioxide to a fuel,” said Heinz Frei, a chemist with Berkeley Lab’s Physical Biosciences Division. “Effective photooxidation requires a catalyst that is both efficient in its use of  solar photons and fast enough to keep up with solar flux in order to avoid wasting those photons. Clusters of cobalt oxide nanocrystals are sufficiently efficient and fast, and are also robust (last a long time) and abundant. They perfectly fit the bill.”