Yang Yang, an associate professor at UCF's NanoScience Technology Center, has developed a device that utilizes a microsurface composed of a tin oxide film and a fluorine layer. This surface is key to capturing gaseous CO2, which is then processed through a bubbling electrode that selectively converts the gas into carbon monoxide and formic acid-two essential chemicals widely used in manufacturing.
The technology, detailed in a recent study published in the 'Journal of the American Chemical Society', could play a significant role in reducing the global carbon footprint while also contributing to the production of alternative energy sources.
"We want to create a better technology to make our world better and cleaner," Yang stated, highlighting the motivation behind the development. "Too much carbon dioxide will have a greenhouse effect on the Earth and will heat it up very quickly. It's the motivation for why we want to develop this new material to grab and convert it into chemicals we can use."
This CO2 capture device could be implemented at power plants, industrial sites, or chemical production facilities, where it would convert emissions into practical products.
Inspiration from Nature
Yang explained that the design of the device was inspired by the lotus plant, known for its hydrophobic surface that repels water. "We as scientists always learn from nature," he said. "We want to see how the animals and the trees work. For this work, we learned from the lotus. We know that the lotus has a really hydrophobic surface, which means when you drop water on the surface, the water will go quickly away from the surface. We also know that green plants absorb carbon dioxide and convert it to oxygen through photosynthesis."
This natural process informed Yang's design, where water on the device's hydrophobic surface is efficiently separated from the CO2 conversion reaction, preventing water from interfering with the conversion process.
Once captured, the CO2 is routed through an electrode and converted through a process that can be tailored more precisely than natural photosynthesis. This electrocatalytic CO2 reduction reaction can transform CO2 into a range of carbon-containing chemicals, including methanol, methane, ethylene, ethanol, acetate, and propanol, depending on the specific catalytic pathways employed.
"We want to create a better material which can quickly grab carbon dioxide molecules from the air and convert them into chemicals," Yang said. "We just reduce the concentration of carbon dioxide in the air and convert it in the liquid and gas phase so we can directly use those converted chemicals and fields for other applications."
Overcoming Research Challenges
One of the main challenges faced during the research was controlling the amount of water on the catalytic material's surface when exposing it to CO2 in a liquid electrolyte.
Yang explained, "If you have too much water surrounding your materials, you may produce hydrogen instead of converting carbon dioxide to chemicals. That will decrease the energy efficiency of the overall process. The materials we use can repel the water from the surface, so we can avoid the formation of hydrogen, and we can greatly enhance the carbon dioxide reduction efficiency. So that means eventually we can use almost all of the electricity for our reaction."
Scaling Up for Larger Applications
As efforts continue globally to capture and convert CO2, from reforestation to large-scale capture technologies, Yang hopes his device will offer a viable alternative that is less time-consuming and more cost-effective.
"In our process, we can use intermittent electricity, like the electricity coming from the solar panel or from the wind farm," he noted, underscoring the potential for integrating sustainable energy sources into the system.
The foundation for this technology stems from Yang's previous work at UCF, where he developed new materials for fuel cells utilizing fluorine-enhanced carbon nearly three years ago.
This research represents a crucial first step toward larger-scale CO2 capture methods, Yang explained. "For this, we validated our concept from the fundamental point of view. We tested the performance in our reactors, but in the future, we want to develop a bigger prototype that can show people how quickly we can convert and reduce the carbon dioxide concentration and generate chemicals or fuels very quickly from our large-scale prototype."
Research Report:Dynamic Bubbling Balanced Proactive CO2 Capture and Reduction on a Triple-Phase Interface Nanoporous Electrocatalyst
Related Links
NanoScience Technology Center at UCF
Bio Fuel Technology and Application News
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