TOKYO -- Toshiba has developed technology to convert sunlight and carbon dioxide into an energy source at the highest efficiency to date, with a goal of commercializing it in 2020.
The artificial-photosynthesis technology combines a semiconductor with a gold catalyst. Oxygen and hydrogen ions are generated from water by applying sunlight to the semiconductor. The catalyst then creates carbon monoxide through a reaction between the carbon dioxide and the hydrogen ions. The carbon monoxide can be processed into such fuels as methanol.
