A new artificial leaf that can make gas fuel out of sunlight could one day produce clean petrol for cars, scientists say.

科学家说，一种新的人造树叶可以利用阳光制造汽油，有朝一日可以为汽车生产清洁汽油。

The leaf, invented by chemists at the University of Cambridge, creates syngas - a mixture of hydrogen and carbon monoxide - without producing carbon emissions, unlike existing techniques.

这片叶子是由剑桥大学的化学家发明的，与现有技术不同，这种合成气是氢和一氧化碳的混合物，不会产生碳排放。

"You may not have heard of syngas itself, but every day you consume products that were created using it," said Prof Erwin Reisner, who has spent seven years working on the photosynthesis-inspired leaf.

“你可能没听说过合成气本身，但你每天都在消费用合成气生产的产品，”ErwinReisner教授说，他花了7年时间研究光合作用激发的叶子。

"Being able to produce it sustainably would be a critical step in closing the global carbon cycle and establishing a sustainable chemical and fuel industry."

“能够可持续地生产这种燃料，将是终结全球碳循环、建立可持续化工和燃料产业的关键一步。”

The leaf is doused in water, where just like the real thing it takes carbon dioxide and water and uses the sun's energy to turn them into oxygen, carbon monoxide and hydrogen. The latter two can then be combined into syngas.

叶子浸在水里，就像真正的叶子一样，叶子吸收二氧化碳和水，利用太阳能把它们转化成氧气、一氧化碳和氢气。后两者可以形成合成气。

And also like a real leaf - but unlike existing solar panels - it doesn't need direct sunlight to work.

而且像真正的叶子一样——它不借助于太阳能电池板，不需要阳光便可以工作。

"This means you are not limited to using this technology just in warm countries, or only operating the process during the summer months," said PhD student Virgil Andrei, who contributed to the research. "You could use it from dawn until dusk, anywhere in the world."

参与这项研究的博士生Virgil Andrei说:“这意味着你不局限于在温暖的国家使用这项技术，或者只在夏季的几个月里操作这个过程。”“你可以在世界上任何地方从早到晚使用它。”