Bioinspired biphasic compartmentalization enables one-pot cascades where photocatalytic CO2 reduction generates CO for carbonylative cross-couplings to synthesize complex organic products, including ...

Semiartificial photosynthesis exploits synergies between synthetic light absorbers and biological catalysts, offering a promising strategy for solar chemistry. Unlike conventional synthetic catalysts for carbon dioxide (CO2) fixation, biological systems employ enzymes, most notably formate dehydrogenases (Fdhs), to catalyze the interconversion between CO2, protons and electrons into formate, a central hub molecule in energy and carbon metabolism. This review focuses on the deployment of metal-dependent Fdhs in semiartificial photosynthesis, with an emphasis on molybdenum- and tungsten-dependent enzymes directly wired to electrodes and synthetic light absorbers. We first examine the structural, mechanistic, and redox properties of relevant Fdhs in vivo and in vitro, highlighting reaction pathways and inherent challenges. Subsequent sections discuss the central role of biotic–abiotic interfaces in constructing functional biohybrid systems, highlighting how advanced interfacial characterization techniques inform enzyme loading, charge carrier dynamics, and reaction intermediates. We then summarize progress and challenges in (photo)electrochemical and photochemical systems leveraging Fdhs unique properties as a model catalyst for CO2-to-formate conversion. This review aims to clarify the current state of the semiartificial photosynthesis field employing metal-dependent Fdhs in vitro, and guide future research at the interface of enzymology, photo(electro)chemistry, and materials science.

This study demonstrates scalable photocatalytic reforming by leveraging single-source precursor chemistry and versatile deposition techniques, including drop casting, spin coating and high-throughput ...

Integrated coupling of renewable energy sources with microbial CO2 fixation remains a major challenge in carbon-neutral biomanufacturing. Here, a biohybrid design is presented that combines a semiarti...

We report an air-tolerant solar reforming (SR) system for the valorisation of pre-treated biomass and plastic waste streams. This process operates in low O2-diffusivity solvents such as the robust dee...

Plastic waste is transformed into functional amines via solar-driven transfer hydrogenation. Soluble monomers from acid hydrolysis of waste polymers serve as a hydrogen (electron/proton)donors in the...

Semiartificial photosynthesis offers a promising route for solar chemistry, but most biohybrid systems rely on UV or blue-light excitation, are limited by inefficient interfacial charge transfer, or r...

Sustainable chemical synthesis requires a cradle-to-cradle design strategy to upcycle waste streams with optimal atom and step economy. Here, we demonstrate the full valorization of vegetable oil usin...

Integrating semiconductors with microorganisms is attracting significant attention as a sustainable platform for solar-to-chemical conversion. This semibiological design combines the excellent light h...

Acid-catalyzed depolymerization of waste plastics using recycled sulfuric acid from spent lead-acid batteries produces ethylene glycol, which is selectively photoreformed over an acid-stable metal sul...

Integrating synthetic light-harvesting materials with biological CO2-fixing catalysts offers a promising route to efficient and selective solar-to-chemical conversion under mild conditions. However, p...

Carbon nitride is a scalable and low-cost organic semiconductor with promise for use in photoelectrochemical (PEC) devices, but its poor stability limits its practical use. This study establishes the ...

A transition-metal-free synthetic strategy for C–H alkylation of electron-poor aromatics is reported, which selectively alkylates the most electrophilic position of electron-deficient aromatics to exh...

Professor Erwin Reisner will present futuristic solar technologies that use waste as a precious resource for a circular economy.

The CO2 present in our atmosphere is a universally available and abundant carbon feedstock, but it exists only in dilute concentrations (currently around 427 ppm). Clean technologies capable of captur...

Solar fuels synthesis is a promising technology for net-zero chemicals production, but capacity is inherently tied to area, and water is often required as a reagent, making land-based deployment costl...