The global climate is still changing due to carbon dioxide pollution. Science Advances this year revealed how researchers can locate such pollutants, even on a regional and almost immediate basis (April 22, 2022).
Numerous studies concentrate on how to transform carbon dioxide pollution into a fuel, such as methanol, as part of an answer to the problem of pollution. Catalysts made of copper can be used for these transformations.
For the best possible conversion of carbon dioxide pollution into methanol fuel, it is crucial to comprehend the associated step-by-step chemistry. However, the specifics of this chemistry are still unknown; tests are required to test the existing computer simulation-based ideas.
Now, researchers from the University of Tsukuba and working partners have experimentally assessed the hydrogenation of copper-adsorbed formate in a paper that was just published in the Journal of the American Chemical Society.
This study will aid in the optimization of key processes in the aforementioned pollutant-to-fuel process, speeding up the manufacturing of methanol.
“Hydrogenation of carbon dioxide into methanol is a potential key technology for producing fuel and chemical feedstocks, but optimizing the reaction remains difficult,” explains Dr. Kotaro Takeyasu, senior author. “That’s because it’s difficult to experimentally detect chemical intermediates in the step-by-step reaction mechanism.”
Two important findings required the use of temperature-programmed desorption and infrared reflection absorption spectroscopy. First, exposure to atomic hydrogen caused the adsorbed formate to hydrogenate at a temperature of 200 Kelvin.
Hydrogenation of carbon dioxide into methanol is a potential key technology for producing fuel and chemical feedstocks, but optimizing the reaction remains difficult. That’s because it’s difficult to experimentally detect chemical intermediates in the step-by-step reaction mechanism.
Dr. Kotaro Takeyasu
The product’s precise chemical composition is not yet known. Additionally, it was discovered that the hydrogenated formate converted back into adsorbed formate or gaseous formaldehyde in a 96:4 ratio at a temperature of 250 Kelvin.
“On the basis of our experimental and computational work, the activation energy of the hydrogenation of adsorbed formate is approximately 121 kilojoules per mole,” states Dr. Takeyasu. “Our results are consistent with reported results of methanol synthesis studies.”
In this line of business, copper-zinc alloys are particularly prevalent. Currently, the research team is comparing the activation energies found in the present work with particularly relevant catalytic alloys, which also necessitate experimental and computational investigations.
Researchers will be able to better produce methanol from carbon dioxide according to the findings of this study. Such efforts will aid in the transformation of air pollution into automobile gasoline and industrial chemical feedstocks.
It offers a way to give carbon dioxide, which is typically seen as trash, more value. Researchers may have a new method for maximizing the use of scarce resources by optimizing the hydrogenation reaction discussed here.
This work was partly supported by Grants in Aid for Scientific Research for Challenging Research (grant No. JP20K21099), for Transformative Research Areas (A) “Hyper-Ordered Structure Science” (grant No. JP20H05883), and for Innovative Area “Hydrogenomics” (grant No. JP18H05519) from the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science.
