Carbon Dioxide Transformation

About

Rising concentrations of atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2), a notable greenhouse gas, is a pressing global environmental issue. According to the Environmental Protection Agency, CO2 accounts for about 82% of all U.S. greenhouse gas emissions. One of the ways to mitigate this growing problem is through the conversion of CO2 into useful chemical feedstock by homogenous or heterogeneous catalysis. While transformation of CO2 into useful chemicals is widely practiced, such transformation is usually facilitated by expensive chemicals such as platinum (Pt) or palladium (Pd). There is a present market need to effectively manage the issue of CO2 and global warming by using more sustainable and cost effective transformation of CO2, particularly by using non-precious metals. University of New Mexico and Sandia National Laboratory researchers have discovered new complexes of various earth-abundant, inexpensive transition or main group metals that facilitate the transformation of carbon dioxide into other more useful organic products. These complexes can bind the CO2 at mild conditions of temperature and pressure, and then can be electrochemically converted to new products. This reaction sequence has the potential to be the first step in a recycle process for converting waste CO2 back into fuels.