A team of scientists has turned a waste product — carbon dioxide — into a fuel — ethanol — in a relatively simple process. And it happened almost by accident.
The US Department of Energy Oak Ridge National Laboratory scientists were running a solution of carbon dioxide dissolved in water over a charged surface in the hopes of describing a reaction when they made their serendipitous discovery.
"We discovered somewhat by accident that this material worked," study lead author Adam Rondinone said.
"We were trying to study the first step of a proposed reaction when we realised that the catalyst was doing the entire reaction on its own."
The catalyst in question was nanoscopic spikes of carbon, studded with copper nanoparticles, that was electrified to essentially reverse the combustion process.
"They are like 50-nanometer lightning rods that concentrate electrochemical reactivity at the tip of the spike," Dr Rondinone said.
The solution of carbon dioxide dissolved in water turned into ethanol with a yield of 63 per cent. This type of reaction typically results in a mix of several different products in small amounts Key points:
Relatively cheap materials of copper, nitrogen and carbon and a fairly simple process yielded a useable fuel, surprising scientists
Laboratory-produced pure fuels are cleaner burning than fossil fuels
It's another step towards carbon-neutral, closed-loop solar fuel systems, Australian scientist says
