Solar-driven sugar production directly from CO2 via a customizable electrocatalytic–biocatalytic flow system

Guangyu Liu; Yuan Zhong; Zehua Liu; Gang Wang; Feng Gao; Chao Zhang; Yujie Wang; Hongwei Zhang; Jun Ma; Yangguang Hu; Aobo Chen; Jiangyuan Pan; Yuanzeng Min; Zhiyong Tang; Chao Gao; Yujie Xiong

doi:10.1038/s41467-024-46954-w

Nature Communications (Mar 2024)

Solar-driven sugar production directly from CO2 via a customizable electrocatalytic–biocatalytic flow system

Guangyu Liu,
Yuan Zhong,
Zehua Liu,
Gang Wang,
Feng Gao,
Chao Zhang,
Yujie Wang,
Hongwei Zhang,
Jun Ma,
Yangguang Hu,
Aobo Chen,
Jiangyuan Pan,
Yuanzeng Min,
Zhiyong Tang,
Chao Gao,
Yujie Xiong

Affiliations

Guangyu Liu: Hefei National Research Center for Physical Sciences at the Microscale, Collaborative Innovative Center of Chemistry for Energy Materials (iChEM), School of Chemistry and Materials Science, University of Science and Technology of China
Yuan Zhong: Hefei National Research Center for Physical Sciences at the Microscale, Collaborative Innovative Center of Chemistry for Energy Materials (iChEM), School of Chemistry and Materials Science, University of Science and Technology of China
Zehua Liu: Hefei National Research Center for Physical Sciences at the Microscale, Collaborative Innovative Center of Chemistry for Energy Materials (iChEM), School of Chemistry and Materials Science, University of Science and Technology of China
Gang Wang: CAS Key Laboratory of Low-Carbon Conversion Science and Engineering, Shanghai Advanced Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Sciences
Feng Gao: Hefei National Research Center for Physical Sciences at the Microscale, Collaborative Innovative Center of Chemistry for Energy Materials (iChEM), School of Chemistry and Materials Science, University of Science and Technology of China
Chao Zhang: Hefei National Research Center for Physical Sciences at the Microscale, Collaborative Innovative Center of Chemistry for Energy Materials (iChEM), School of Chemistry and Materials Science, University of Science and Technology of China
Yujie Wang: Hefei National Research Center for Physical Sciences at the Microscale, Collaborative Innovative Center of Chemistry for Energy Materials (iChEM), School of Chemistry and Materials Science, University of Science and Technology of China
Hongwei Zhang: Hefei National Research Center for Physical Sciences at the Microscale, Collaborative Innovative Center of Chemistry for Energy Materials (iChEM), School of Chemistry and Materials Science, University of Science and Technology of China
Jun Ma: Hefei National Research Center for Physical Sciences at the Microscale, Collaborative Innovative Center of Chemistry for Energy Materials (iChEM), School of Chemistry and Materials Science, University of Science and Technology of China
Yangguang Hu: Hefei National Research Center for Physical Sciences at the Microscale, Collaborative Innovative Center of Chemistry for Energy Materials (iChEM), School of Chemistry and Materials Science, University of Science and Technology of China
Aobo Chen: Hefei National Research Center for Physical Sciences at the Microscale, Collaborative Innovative Center of Chemistry for Energy Materials (iChEM), School of Chemistry and Materials Science, University of Science and Technology of China
Jiangyuan Pan: Hefei National Research Center for Physical Sciences at the Microscale, Collaborative Innovative Center of Chemistry for Energy Materials (iChEM), School of Chemistry and Materials Science, University of Science and Technology of China
Yuanzeng Min: Hefei National Research Center for Physical Sciences at the Microscale, Collaborative Innovative Center of Chemistry for Energy Materials (iChEM), School of Chemistry and Materials Science, University of Science and Technology of China
Zhiyong Tang: CAS Key Laboratory of Low-Carbon Conversion Science and Engineering, Shanghai Advanced Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Sciences
Chao Gao: Hefei National Research Center for Physical Sciences at the Microscale, Collaborative Innovative Center of Chemistry for Energy Materials (iChEM), School of Chemistry and Materials Science, University of Science and Technology of China
Yujie Xiong: Hefei National Research Center for Physical Sciences at the Microscale, Collaborative Innovative Center of Chemistry for Energy Materials (iChEM), School of Chemistry and Materials Science, University of Science and Technology of China

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-024-46954-w
Journal volume & issue: Vol. 15, no. 1
pp. 1 – 11

Abstract

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Abstract Conventional food production is restricted by energy conversion efficiency of natural photosynthesis and demand for natural resources. Solar-driven artificial food synthesis from CO2 provides an intriguing approach to overcome the limitations of natural photosynthesis while promoting carbon-neutral economy, however, it remains very challenging. Here, we report the design of a hybrid electrocatalytic−biocatalytic flow system, coupling photovoltaics-powered electrocatalysis (CO2 to formate) with five-enzyme cascade platform (formate to sugar) engineered via genetic mutation and bioinformatics, which achieves conversion of CO2 to C6 sugar (L-sorbose) with a solar-to-food energy conversion efficiency of 3.5%, outperforming natural photosynthesis by over three-fold. This flow system can in principle be programmed by coupling with diverse enzymes toward production of multifarious food from CO2. This work opens a promising avenue for artificial food synthesis from CO2 under confined environments.

Published in Nature Communications

ISSN: 2041-1723 (Online)
Publisher: Nature Portfolio
Country of publisher: United Kingdom
LCC subjects: Science
Website: https://www.nature.com/ncomms/

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