Researchers have demonstrated how carbon dioxide can be converted into methanol in a highly efficient manner.
The process happened by taking cobalt phthalocyanine (CoPc) molecules and spreading them on carbon nanotubes.
On their surface was an electrolyte solution; running an electrical current through it allowed CoPc molecules to take electrons and use them to turn carbon dioxide into methanol.
Using vibrational spectroscopy techniques, the team of researchers were able to visualise the reaction and see molecules convert into methanol or carbon monoxide: which path the reaction takes is depends on the environment where the carbon dioxide molecule reacts. The work is published in the journal Nature Catalysis.
“We could tell by their vibrational signatures that it was the same molecule sitting in two different reaction environments. We were able to correlate that one of those reaction environments was responsible for producing methanol,” said Quansong Zhu, lead author of the study.
The researchers found that controlling how the CoPc was distributed on the carbon nanotube improved the production of methanol from carbon dioxide by up to eight times. This discovery, the research team said, could have a widespread impact in other areas of research.
Deeper analysis also found these molecules were directly interacting with supercharged particles called cations that enhanced the process of methanol formation. While more research is needed to learn more about what else these cations can enable, these findings are key to achieving a more efficient way to create methanol, the researchers said.
Robert Baker co-author of the study and professor in chemistry and biochemistry at Ohio State University said: “When you take carbon dioxide and convert it to another product, there are many different molecules you can make. Methanol is definitely one of the most desirable because it has such a high energy density and can be used directly as an alternative fuel.”
The researchers say that their findings are key to achieving a more efficient way in which to create methanol. “Understanding the unique chemistry that happens at a molecular level is really important to enabling these applications,” Baker added.
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