{"id":75759,"date":"2020-06-16T07:23:12","date_gmt":"2020-06-16T05:23:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/?p=75759"},"modified":"2021-09-09T21:18:08","modified_gmt":"2021-09-09T19:18:08","slug":"laser-carved-copper-catalysts-unveil-secrets-of-turning-co2-into-fuels","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/laser-carved-copper-catalysts-unveil-secrets-of-turning-co2-into-fuels\/","title":{"rendered":"Laser carved copper catalysts unveil secrets of turning CO2<\/sub> into fuels"},"content":{"rendered":"

Copper catalysts are treasured by electrochemists because they can transform carbon dioxide into fuels and feedstock chemicals. However, this process is typically non-selective. Now, using laser carved copper microprobes and computational modelling, researchers have created detailed selectivity maps that predict the best reaction conditions to obtain fuels and chemicals.<\/p>\n

\u2018Copper is a cheap and abundant catalyst for electrochemical CO2 fixation,\u2019 explains Javier P\u00e9rez-Ram\u00edrez from ETH Zurich, Switzerland, who lead the study. \u2018It\u2019s magical,\u2019 he adds. \u2018It yields all sorts of multi-carbon products such as ethylene, ethanol and even propanol.\u2019 But such versatility comes with a price tag. Copper reduces carbon dioxide to 16 different chemicals, and chemists were far from understanding and controlling this process. P\u00e9rez-Ram\u00edrez\u2019s team wanted to go beyond previous studies, which suggested that acidity around the catalyst drove selectivity. \u2018Besides, we wanted a model that allowed us to predict the outcome of the reaction,\u2019 he explains.<\/p>\n

Researchers used a laser to carve microscopic wells directly into a copper surface. Variation in depth generated different reaction environments, which eventually led to different distributions of products. \u2018Shallow microprobes led to small molecules, such as carbon monoxide,\u2019 says P\u00e9rez-Ram\u00edrez. On the other hand, deep microstructures hinder the flow of carbon dioxide, making the environment more basic. \u2018These conditions trigger the formation of more complex products, which are more desirable,\u2019 he adds.<\/p>\n

After testing different depths of copper microprobes and reaction conditions, researchers fed all the experimental results into their computational model. The model analyses reaction parameters such as potential, current density, to generate selectivity maps. \u2018We created a robust model that can adapt to different catalytic structures to successfully account for the outcome of the electrochemical transformation,\u2019 says P\u00e9rez-Ram\u00edrez. This approach seems more efficient than alternatives such as varying the catalyst composition or adding doping agents. \u2018We can really make copper more selective towards complex structures,\u2019 he adds.<\/p>\n

Jing Gu, an expert in artificial photosynthesis at San Diego State University, US, says \u2018this breakthrough is twofold\u2019. First, because it is experimentally challenging. \u2018Microstructured copper electrodes had never been studied in such a well-controlled and systematic way,\u2019 she explains. Secondly, researchers have carried out a thorough computational analysis that will help better understand the mechanism of carbon dioxide reduction. These catalytic systems involve too many variables and are very difficult to understand. \u2018However, these models and the generated selectivity maps accurately reflect intrinsic trends of the reaction,\u2019 she says.<\/p>\n

P\u00e9rez-Ram\u00edrez and his team believe that their approach is scalable. \u2018Laser microfabrication processes are already being used industrially,\u2019 he points out. Gu, however, believes the process should be improved before moving forward. \u2018It still needs to be more selective towards multi-carbon products,\u2019 she says. A solution could arise from combining copper microprobes with even smaller structures, which could further enhance selectivity. \u2018Nanodendrites could be a good solution to give a more controlled environment,\u2019 agrees Gu. \u2018This new approach sheds light on how to produce multi-carbon products selectively, putting us one step closer to efficient artificial leaves.\u2019<\/p>\n

 
\nReferences
\nF L P Veenstra et al, Chem, 2020, DOI: 10.1016\/j.chempr.2020.04.001<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Copper catalysts are treasured by electrochemists because they can transform carbon dioxide into fuels and feedstock chemicals. However, this process is typically non-selective. Now, using laser carved copper microprobes and computational modelling, researchers have created detailed selectivity maps that predict the best reaction conditions to obtain fuels and chemicals. \u2018Copper is a cheap and abundant […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":59,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"","nova_meta_subtitle":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[5571],"tags":[10744,15152,10743],"supplier":[277,14943],"class_list":["post-75759","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-co2-based","tag-carboncapture","tag-catalyst","tag-useco2","supplier-eidgenoessische-technische-hochschule-zuerich-eth-zuerich","supplier-san-diego-state-university"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/75759","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/59"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=75759"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/75759\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=75759"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=75759"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=75759"},{"taxonomy":"supplier","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/supplier?post=75759"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}