Biohybrid leaf powered by organic semiconductors turns CO2 into formate

Sunlight Breathes Chemistry

A lab scene that feels part greenhouse, part engineering lab is quietly rewriting the rules of chemistry. A Cambridge team aims to wean the chemical industry off fossil fuels and CO2-heavy processes to forge a circular, sustainable economy. They’re chasing a simple dream with a bold twist: make sunlight,water,and CO2 mingle into formate,a clean fuel that can power the very reactions that create plastics,medicines,and fuels-without the smoke.

What’s new isn’t a single gadget but a new way to think about energy and matter. The researchers built a semi-artificial leaf.It blends light-absorbing organic polymers with the precision of a living enzyme. The result is a generator that drives carbon conversion using sunlight, with safety and stability baked in from the start. This is the kind of bridge between biology and electronics that the field has been inching toward for years, now stepping into a practical, proof-of-concept stage.

Source material: the study, led by Erwin Reisner and colleagues, was published in Joule and supported by a constellation of funders, including A*STAR, the European Research Council, the Swiss National Science foundation, the Royal Academy of Engineering, and UKRI.

Problem: The chemical industry still leans on fossil fuels and emits vast amounts of CO2. To bend the emissions curve, we need chemistry that runs on sunlight and water-without toxic or unstable components that complicate safety and scale.

Tension: Early biohybrid ideas flirted with danger and fragility. Many relied on harsh absorbers or required buffers and conditions that prevented long, steady operation.The clock was ticking on how to keep a living, light-harvesting system safe, simple, and dependable.

Breakthrough: the Cambridge team built a semi-artificial, organic-semiconductor leaf. Light-absorbing organic polymers capture photons; sulfate-reducing bacterial enzymes convert sunlight, water, and CO2 into formate. This formate can act as a clean, portable fuel to power downstream chemical reactions-demonstrated by a domino sequence that yields a pharmaceutical-grade product with high yield and purity. The device is non-toxic, avoids unstable absorbers of the past, and runs for over 24 hours with high current and near-perfect electron efficiency. A carbonic anhydrase enzyme sits in a porous titania framework, letting the system work in simple sparkling water-no buffers required. The design is a precise, sandwich-like stack with careful enzyme immobilization on an electrode. The result is safety, stability, and performance in one compact package. This is the first time organic semiconductors have served as the light-capturing component in this type of biohybrid system.

For readers curious about the science-community trail, the work highlights a shift: non-toxic materials, a durable, scalable architecture, and a path toward broader product scopes. See the Joule paper for the technical detail, and learn more about the funders at A*STAR, ERC, SNF, Royal Academy of Engineering, and UKRI.

Two worlds collide when biology meets organic electronics. The shift to organic semiconductors-chosen for their non-toxicity and compatibility with living enzymes-marks a real pivot. Conventional solar absorbers in biohybrids often demanded rigid,unstable materials or toxic components that hampered safety and stability. Here, the organic polymers serve as the light-collection stage, while enzymes in a robust, porous titania scaffold perform the hard work of transforming CO2 into formate. The pairing is more than a clever trick; it’s a new architectural language for how to power chemistry with the sun. A central question lingers: can such systems deliver not just a proof of concept, but a scalable, resilient platform? The answer seems to be yes-and the implications run deep. the success isn’t merely about making formate; it’s about proving that sustainable chemistry can be designed as a safe, modular, and extensible platform. The biggest takeaway: organic semiconductors can lead in biohybrid solar-to-chemical devices, opening doors to products beyond formate and inviting a broader set of reactions to run on sunlight.

Insight: A pivot point in design thinking for photovoltaic-biology integration. The leaf isn’t just powering one reaction-it’s rewriting what a chemical factory powered by sun can look like. Will this spark a cascade of new, green products? time will tell, but the signal is clear enough to turn heads in labs and boardrooms alike.

The breakthrough points toward a future were sustainable chemistry feels seamless and scalable. By showing that formate can serve as both a clean energy carrier and a feedstock for downstream reactions, the work hints at modular platforms that can switch to other targets without starting from scratch. The durability-running beyond 24 hours-and the capital-friendly, “sandwich-like” design hint at easier manufacturing and maintenance than many early prototypes. For the field, the next steps are clear: extend lifespans, broaden the product scope, and push toward practical deployment. If the technology matures,it could complement carbon capture strategies and help redefine the pace at which industry adopts low-emission chemistry. In a word, it’s a roadmap-one that could steer us toward a cleaner, more innovative era of chemical production.

Looking ahead, researchers will test longer-lived devices, refine enzyme immobilization, and explore other target products-each step expanding the reach of light-powered biohybrid chemistry. The trajectory is enterprising, but the signal is steady: nature-inspired design, implemented with human-made precision, can reshape how we create our world.

Leaves Forge Futures