New catalyst turns carbon dioxide to methanol

Photocatalysis – using sunlight to excite electrons – causes chemical reactions. Such a process was already known to turn CO₂ + H₂O into methane.

But in new research, a more efficient version of the process has produced a far more useful substance; methanol.

Scientists from the Universities of Queensland, Ulm, Birmingham, and Nottingham teamed up to improve the catalyst involved in the process. They added copper to their nano-crystalline structure.

Source

Synergy of nanocrystalline carbon nitride with Cu single atom catalyst leads to selective photocatalytic reduction of CO₂ to methanol, Sustainable Energy and Fuels, 2024-03-06