Polymethacrylamide and Carbon Composites that Grow, Strengthen, and Self‐Repair using Ambient Carbon Dioxide Fixation

Abstract Plants accumulate solid carbon mass and self‐repair using atmospheric CO2 fixation from photosynthesis. Synthetic materials capable of mimicking this property can significantly reduce the energy needed to transport and repair construction materials. Here, a gel matrix containing aminopropyl methacrylamide (APMA), glucose oxidase (GOx), and nanoceria‐stabilized extracted chloroplasts that is able to grow, strengthen, and self‐repair using carbon fixation is demonstrated. Glucose produced from the embedded chloroplasts is converted to gluconolactone (GL) via GOx, polymerizing with APMA to form a continuously expanding and strengthening polymethacrylamide. The extracted spinach chloroplasts exhibit enhanced stability and produce 12 µg GL mg−1 Chl h−1 after optimization of the temporal illumination conditions and the glucose efflux rate, with the insertion of chemoprotective nanocer…