Researchers from the University of Amsterdam (UvA) have invented a new catalyst that can efficiently convert carbon dioxide (CO2) to carbon monoxide (CO). This soon-to-be patented invention enables the sustainable utilisation of CO2, a potent greenhouse gas linked to climate change. If successful on a larger scale, this invention could provide a practical way to convert CO2 to useful chemicals.
The researchers behind the catalyst, UvA chemists Edwin Gnanakumar and Shiju Raveendran, are in the process of commercialising the catalyst with the help of Amsterdam Innovation Exchange (IXA), the university’s technology transfer office.
Researchers from the University of Amsterdam (UvA) have invented a new catalyst that can efficiently convert carbon dioxide (CO2) to carbon monoxide (CO). This soon-to-be patented invention enables the sustainable utilisation of CO2, a potent greenhouse gas linked to climate change. If successful on a larger scale, this invention could provide a practical way to convert CO2 to useful chemicals.
The researchers behind the catalyst, UvA chemists Edwin Gnanakumar and Shiju Raveendran, are in the process of commercialising the catalyst with the help of Amsterdam Innovation Exchange (IXA), the university’s technology transfer office.
From waste to resource
Carbon dioxide (or CO2) is a trace gas in earth’s atmosphere and plays a vital role in regulating the planet’s surface temperature by trapping heat. Although it forms an important part of the planet’s carbon cycle, CO2 is also known to be a potent greenhouse gas. Since the industrial revolution, the level of atmospheric CO2 has climbed steadily as a result of human activity and is believed to be behind the current episode of global warming.
In the field of chemistry, practical solutions are being sought to reduce atmospheric CO2 by using the gas as a resource rather than a waste product. However, using carbon dioxide as a raw material and converting it to useful chemicals or fuels is notoriously difficult because of the compound’s molecular stability. This stability poses severe challenges to attempts to activate or reactivate CO2.
Read more at University of Amsterdam
