Researcher Leads Breakthrough in Production of Green Carbon Monoxide Using Light

January 15, 2024

A team of advanced materials chemistry researchers have made a significant breakthrough in the use of light to convert carbon and carbon dioxide (CO₂) into carbon monoxide (CO).Carbon monoxide and carbon dioxide are both hazardous to human health, with rising carbon dioxide concentrations in our atmosphere increasing the threat of climate change induced by global warming.Rather than burning fossil fuels to produce carbon monoxide, the greener approach proposed by Ozin's team would utilize light in the production process and combine it with the emerging practice of using carbon dioxide as a chemical feedstock.
Research shows that the carbon source that enables this conversion process can be natural. It can also come from fossil emissions sources and air using specialized capture, storage and release technology, or biochar made by slow-burning agricultural biomass.
The University of Toronto team used a photodynamic reaction that utilizes captured carbon dioxide and converts it into carbon monoxide, which is less energetic and chemically intense than the same reaction driven by heat. "The carbon dioxide produced photochemically in this way can be called green," Otsu said.
Okatsu's team is pioneering the development of photochemical methods that can be performed at room temperature while producing fewer contaminants.
Green carbon monoxide generation is expected to become more economically viable as advancements are made in the efficiency of photoreactors, battery performance, solar concentration optics and light-emitting diodes—with improvements in these technologies vital to making it competitive with existing thermochemical and electrochemical production methods.Ultimately, transitioning production of carbon monoxide away from processes that burn fossil fuels toward using renewable energy, unwanted atmospheric carbon monoxide and waste forms of carbon offers the prospect of reducing the environmental footprint of producing this toxic yet vital industrial chemical—while also helping to create green sector jobs.

From：Tech Xplore