Typically, this CO2 separation process requires enormous amounts of energy. However, in the first computational
In particular, they demonstrated thatultraviolet light can be very effective in exciting the organic oligophenylene molecule. When exposed to UV radiation, oligophenylene becomes a negatively charged anion, easily transferring electrons to a nearby molecule such as CO2. Thus, carbon dioxide becomes able to recover and turn into an integral part of plastics, medicines or even furniture.
“CO2 is notoriously difficult to reduce,therefore, it lives in the atmosphere for decades. But this negatively charged anion is capable of reducing even such a stable product as CO2, so it is promising and why we are studying it.
Shaama Sharada, Assistant Professor, WISE Gabilan
The rapidly increasing concentration of carbon dioxide in the Earth's atmosphere is one of the most urgent problems that humanity must solve to avoid climate catastrophe.
Since the beginning of the industrial era, people have increasedCO2 emissions in the atmosphere by 45% due to the combustion of fossil fuels and other emissions. As a result, average global temperatures are now two degrees Celsius higher than in the pre-industrial era. Thanks to greenhouse gases such as CO2, heat from the sun remains in the atmosphere, warming our planet.
Many research groups are exploring methods to convert CO2 captured by emissions into fuels or carbon feedstocks for consumer products, from pharmaceuticals to polymers.
This process traditionally uses heator electricity along with a catalyst to speed up the conversion of CO2 into products. However, many of these methods are often energy intensive, which is not ideal for a process aimed at reducing environmental impact. Using sunlight to excite the catalyst molecule is in turn energy efficient.
"Most other ways to do this involveusing metal-based chemicals and those metals are rare earth metals,” Sharada said. “They can be expensive, hard to find, and potentially toxic.”
This work was the first computationalresearch of this nature because scientists had not previously studied the underlying mechanism by which an electron moves from an organic molecule, such as oligophenylene, to CO2. The team found that they could make systematic modifications to the oligophenylene catalyst by adding groups of atoms that impart certain properties when they bind to molecules that tend to push electrons toward the center of the catalyst to speed up the reaction.
The team is currently studying design strategiescatalysts that not only result in a high reaction rate, but also allow the excitation of a molecule with visible light, using both quantum chemistry and genetic algorithms.
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