Researchers have successfully transformed CO2 into methanol by shining sunlight on single atoms of copper deposited on a light-activated material, a discovery that paves the way in which for creating latest green fuels.
A world team of researchers from the University of Nottingham’s School of Chemistry, University of Birmingham, University of Queensland and University of Ulm have designed a cloth, made up of copper anchored on nanocrystalline carbon nitride. The copper atoms are nested throughout the nanocrystalline structure, which allows electrons to maneuver from carbon nitride to CO2, an important step within the production of methanol from CO2 under the influence of solar irradiation. The research has been published within the Sustainable Energy & Fuels Journal of the Royal Society of Chemistry.
In photocatalysis, light is shone on a semiconductor material that excites electrons, enabling them to travel through the fabric to react with CO2 and water, resulting in a wide range of useful products, including methanol, which is a green fuel. Despite recent progress, this process suffers from a scarcity of efficiency and selectivity.
Carbon dioxide is the best contributor to global warming. Although, it is feasible to convert CO2 to useful products, traditional thermal methods depend on hydrogen sourced from fossil fuels. It’s important to develop alternative methods based on photo- and electrocatalysis, benefiting from the sustainable solar energy and abundance of omnipresent water.
Dr Madasamy Thangamuthu, a research fellow within the School of Chemistry, University of Nottingham, who co-led the research team, said: “There may be a big variety of various materials utilized in photocatalysis. It’s important that the photocatalyst absorbs light and separates charge carriers with high efficiency. In our approach, we control the fabric on the nanoscale. We developed a brand new type of carbon nitride with crystalline nanoscale domains that allow efficient interaction with light in addition to sufficient charge separation.”
The researchers devised a technique of heating carbon nitride to the required degree of crystallinity, maximising the functional properties of this material for photocatalysis. Using magnetron sputtering, they deposited atomic copper in a solventless process, allowing intimate contact between the semiconductor and metal atoms.
Tara LeMercier, a PhD student who carried out the experimental work on the University of Nottingham, School of Chemistry, said: “We measured the present generated by light and used it as a criterion to guage the standard of the catalyst. Even without copper, the brand new type of carbon nitride is 44 times more energetic than traditional carbon nitride. Nevertheless, to our surprise, the addition of just one mg of copper per 1 g of carbon nitride quadrupled this efficiency. Most significantly the selectivity modified from methane, one other greenhouse gas, to methanol, a beneficial green fuel.”
Professor Andrei Khlobystov, School of Chemistry, University of Nottingham, said: “Carbon dioxide valorisation holds the important thing for achieving the net-zero ambition of the UK. It’s vitally necessary to make sure the sustainability of our catalyst materials for this necessary response. An enormous advantage of the brand new catalyst is that it consists of sustainable elements — carbon, nitrogen and copper — all highly abundant on our planet.”
This invention represents a major step towards a deep understanding of photocatalytic materials in CO2conversion. It opens a pathway for creating highly selective and tuneable catalysts where the specified product may very well be dialled up by controlling the catalyst on the nanoscale.
This work is funded by the EPSRC Programme Grant ‘Metal atoms on surfaces and interfaces (MASI) for sustainable future’ which is ready to develop catalyst materials for the conversion of three key molecules — carbon dioxide, hydrogen and ammonia — crucially necessary for economy and environment. MASI catalysts are made in an atom-efficient approach to ensure sustainable use of chemical elements without depleting supplies of rare elements and making a lot of the earth’s abundant elements, equivalent to carbon and base metals.
The University of Nottingham is devoted to championing green and sustainable technologies. The Zero Carbon Cluster has been set within the East Midlands to speed up the event and deployment of innovation in green industries and advanced manufacturing.
