Artificial photosynthetic systems for production of hydrogen

Abstract

The rapid consumption of fossil fuels has caused unacceptable environmental problems such as the greenhouse effect, which may lead to disastrous climatic consequences. Because fossil fuels are the products of long-term photosynthesis, it is highly desirable to develop artificial photosynthetic systems for the production of renewable and clean energy such as hydrogen. This article summarizes recent advances on studies of artificial photosynthetic systems for photocatalytic production of hydrogen with hydrogenases and their functional mimics including hybrids of natural and artificial components. Because it is highly desired to convert gaseous H2 to an easily storable form, recent progress on storage of hydrogen as liquid or solid form has also been described in this article.