Co-catalyst promises energy-rich outcomes from CO2

A novel ‘co-catalyst’ system using inexpensive, easy to fabricate carbon-based nanofibre materials converts carbon dioxide to carbon monoxide, a useful starting-material for synthesising fuels. The findings have been published online in advance of print in the journal Nature Communications.

‘I believe this can open a new field for the design of inexpensive and efficient catalytic systems for the many researchers already working with these easily manipulated advanced carbon materials,’ said Amin Salehi-Khojin, University of Illinois at Chicago professor of mechanical and industrial engineering and principal investigator on the study.

Researchers have spent decades trying to find an efficient, commercially viable way to chemically reduce, or lower the oxidation state, of carbon dioxide.

Although reducing carbon dioxide is a two-step process, chemists had commonly used a single catalyst, Salehi-Khojin said in a statement. He and his colleagues experimented with using different catalysts for each step.

In previous work, Salehi-Khojin used an ionic liquid to catalyse the first step of the reaction, and silver for the final reduction to carbon monoxide. The co-catalyst system was more efficient than single-catalyst carbon dioxide reduction systems, he said.