A Timeline of Artificial Photosynthesis
Sabatier and Sendersens
1902 — Developed the Sabatier reaction, an early effort to isolate methane from carbon dioxide with a catalyst
Melvin Calvin
1960s-1980s — Recipient of the 1961 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for advances in our knowledge of photosynthesis; prognosticated on the potential for artificial synthesis
Swedish Consortium for Artificial Photosynthesis
1993 — Founded to conduct interdisciplinary research into artificial photosynthesis
U.S. Dept. of Energy: Joint Center for Artificial Photosynthesis
2010 — Founded to research, develop, and optimize artificial photosynthesis technology for use in the US.
Dr. Daniel Nocera
2011 (MIT) — Developed the first artificial leaf, a silicon sheet coated on both sides with photocatalysts that can split water into hydrogen and oxygen gas; current pioneer of photohydrolysis and hydrocarbon synthesis
Aitbekova and Cargnello
2019 (Stanford) — Identified ruthenium coated in iron oxide as an excellent catalyst for hydrocarbon synthesis