When you consider the solar panel, you likely conjure images of vast open fields, covered in rows upon rows of solar cells, harvesting precious energy from the sun. But what if we could shift that paradigm between passive green energy and the sun?

The present work is conducted to evaluate the feasibility of using solar pavements as a sustainable energy producer to supply electrical energy. For this purpose, we prepared two prototypes entitled as “solar panel” (solar cell embedded in rubber and Plexiglas) and “solar pavement” (solar cell embedded between two porous rubber layers) which both are capable of harvesting and converting the solar energy into photovoltaic cells.

It is a small, thin, rectangular-shaped device. In a similar way to real leaves, the artificial leaf has the ability to absorb the energy of sunlight and directly convert it into a chemical fuel, which can then be used later as an energy source. The device does not need external wiring nor control circuits to operate; all it needs is to be placed within a container of water with exposure to sunlight. Best of all, the artificial leaf does this all without releasing any carbon dioxide into the air.