Reverse combustion from nanoparticles

Copper nanoparticles ( spheres) embedded in carbon nanospike

An accidental discovery was made, when a catalyst made of carbon, copper, nitrogen and applied voltage to trigger complicated chemical reaction that reverses the combustion process. Using nanotechnology-based catalyst which contains multiple reaction sites, the solution of carbon dioxide dissolved in water turned into ethanol with a yield of 63%! Usually, this type of electrochemical reactions results in a mix of several different smaller products. Though it is difficult to go from carbon dioxide to ethanol with a single catalyst, researchers discovered that the catalyst’s novelty lies in its nanoscale structure, consisting of copper nanoparticles embedded in carbon spikes. This approach avoids the use of expensive or rare metals such as platinum that limit the economic viability of many catalysts. By arranging common materials with nanotechnology, researchers were able to limit side reactions and end up with the desired product. The initial analysis suggests that the spiky textured surface of catalysts provides ample reactive sites to facilitate the CO₂ to ethanol conversion. Since materials are low cost and the fact that this reaction occurs at room temperature in water, it is possible that the approach could be scaled up for industrially relevant applications, such as, storing excess electricity generated from variable power sources such as wind and solar.

Song, Y., Peng, R., Hensley, D. K., Bonnesen, P. V., et al. (2016), High-Selectivity Electrochemical Conversion of CO₂ to Ethanol using a Copper Nanoparticle/N-Doped Graphene Electrode. ChemistrySelect. doi:10.1002/slct.201601169