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Chemists from the University of Illinois have succeeded in producing fuels using water, carbon dioxide and visible light through artificial photosynthesis. By converting carbon dioxide into more complex molecules like propane, green energy technology is now one step closer to using excess CO.2 store solar energy – in the form of chemical bonds – to use when the sun does not shine and during peak periods.
Plants use sunlight to cause chemical reactions between water and CO2 create and store solar energy in the form of high energy density glucose. In the new study, researchers have developed an artificial process using the same visible light portion of the visible light spectrum used by plants during natural photosynthesis to convert CO.2 and water in the fuel, in conjunction with electron-rich gold nanoparticles that serve as a catalyst. The new results are published in the journal Nature Communications.
"The goal here is to produce complex and liquefiable hydrocarbons from CO2 Prashant Jain, professor of chemistry and co-author of the study, said: "Liquid fuels are ideal because they are easier, safer and more economical to carry than gas and molecule-chain, contain more than bonds – which means that they pack more dense energy. "
In Jain's laboratory, Sungju Yu, postdoctoral researcher and lead author of the study, uses metal catalysts to absorb green light and transfer electrons and protons needed for chemical reactions between the CO2 and water – fulfilling the role of chlorophyll pigment in natural photosynthesis.
Gold nanoparticles act particularly well as a catalyst, says Jain, because their surfaces interact favorably with CO2 molecules, are effective at absorbing light and do not decompose like other metals that can tarnish easily.
The energy stored in the hydrocarbon fuel bonds is released in several ways. However, the simple conventional combustion method ends up producing more CO2 "That goes against the notion of harvesting and storing solar energy," said Jain.
"There are other potential, more unconventional, uses of hydrocarbons created from this process," he said. "They could be used to power fuel cells to produce electrical power and voltage." There are laboratories around the world that are trying to determine how hydrocarbon conversion to electricity can be conducted efficiently. " Jain Jain said.
As exciting as the development of this CO2Researchers recognize that Jain's artificial photosynthetic process is far from being as effective as in factories.
"We have to learn how to adjust the catalyst to increase the effectiveness of the chemical reactions," he said. "Then we can begin the hard work of figuring out how to step up the process, and like any unconventional energy technology, there will be many economic feasibility issues as well."
The Institute for Energy and Biosciences, through the EBI-Shell program, supported this research.
Source of the story:
Material provided by University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Press Office. Original written by Lois Yoksoulian. Note: Content can be changed for style and length.
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