Copper superatom nanocluster converts CO2 into simple chemicals and fuels

Amazing stuff! Good news! I don't think we have enough CO2 in the atmosphere! Just kidding!

Remember, atmospheric CO2 is mostly alarmism and hysteria!

"A rare copper nanocluster has been synthesised that behaves as a ‘superatom’. The Chinese team hopes it will unlock copper’s long-promised potential for sustainable carbon-to-fuel chemistry, turning carbon dioxide into valuable chemicals. ...

designed a protective shell of organic ligands that bind tightly to the cluster, locking the atoms into a stable arrangement. The result is a new cluster, [Cu45H6(C≡CR)18(OAc)15] (or Cu45 for short).

‘It is resistant to heat, oxidation and reduction, as well as acidic and basic conditions,’ ... ‘and survives longer than any other Cu(0)-based cluster known to date.’ Cu45’s ‘ultrastability’ is thanks to its electronic structure, which features a large energy gap that makes it far less prone to oxidation.

The team also tested Cu₄₅ as an electrocatalyst, finding that it converts carbon dioxide into multi-carbon products such as ethylene, ethanol and acetic acid with a high Faradaic efficiency. ..."

From the abstract:

"Atomically coinage metal nanoclusters are highly attractive for various applications including catalysis, photochemistry, and energy conversion. While Cu nanoclusters are low cost, their development has lagged behind that of Au and Ag counterparts due to their inherent instability primarily caused by the low Cu(I)/Cu(0) reduction potential. Therefore, the synthesis of stable Cu(0)-containing nanoclusters remains a formidable challenge.

Herein, we report the first 6-electron superatomic copper nanocluster, [Cu45H6(C≡CR)18(OAc)15] (Cu45). This cluster has remarkable stability, being resistant to thermal, oxidative, reductive, acidic, and basic treatments. Single-crystal X-ray diffraction analysis and time-dependent DFT calculations reveal that the outstanding stability of Cu45 is attributed to its superatomic electronic configuration (1S21P4) and strong copper–ligand interactions.

Furthermore, Cu45 is the first well-defined Cu superatom electrocatalyst used for CO2-to-C2H4 electrocatalysis, which exhibits outstanding performance with a maximum Faradaic efficiency for C2+ products of 81.8% (58% for ethene), surpassing all known copper cluster catalysts.

In situ ATR-SEIRAS and theoretical calculations reveal that Cu45 effectively activates CO2 and promotes C–C coupling, thereby facilitating the formation of C2+ products. This work provides new insights into the design of robust Cu nanoclusters for electrocatalytic applications, enabling their broader application in future research and technology development."

Copper superatom nanocluster converts CO2 into simple chemicals and fuels | Chemistry World

Ultrastable Copper Superatom (no public access)

Space-filling model of the Cu45 superatom

The molecular structure of the Cu45 superatom

A new solar-powered artificial leave that converts carbon dioxide and water into liquid fuels

Global Warming is a hoax and Climate Change a religion! 

E.g. humans have already developed plenty of technologies to remove the life essential trace gas CO2 from the atmosphere at any scale. Here is another, very recent example!

"The researchers ... harnessed the power of photosynthesis to convert CO2, water and sunlight into multicarbon fuels – ethanol and propanol – in a single step. These fuels have a high energy density and can be easily stored or transported.

Unlike fossil fuels, these solar fuels produce net-zero carbon emissions and are completely renewable, and unlike most bioethanol, they do not divert any agricultural land away from food production. ...
Now, the artificial leaf can directly produce clean ethanol and propanol without the need for the intermediary step of producing syngas. ..."

Let's remember: "The United States is the world’s largest bioethanol producer: according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, almost 45% of all corn grown in the US is used for ethanol production [what an  irresponsible waste since about 2005!!! Brazil is the second largest producer].

“Biofuels like ethanol are a controversial technology, not least because they take up agricultural land that could be used to grow food instead,” ..."

From the abstract:

"The synthesis of high-energy-density liquid fuels from CO2 and H2O powered by sunlight has the potential to create a circular economy. Despite the progress in producing simple gaseous products, the construction of unassisted photoelectrochemical devices for liquid multi-carbon production remains a major challenge. Here we assembled artificial leaf devices by integrating an oxide-derived Cu94Pd6 electrocatalyst with perovskite–BiVO4 tandem light absorbers that couple CO2 reduction with water oxidation. The wired Cu94Pd6|perovskite–BiVO4 tandem device provides a Faradaic efficiency of ~7.5% for multi-carbon alcohols (~1:1 ethanol and n-propanol), whereas the wireless standalone device produces ~1 µmol cm−2 alcohols after 20 h unassisted operation under air mass 1.5 G irradiation with a rate of ~40 µmol h−1 gCu94Pd6−1. This study demonstrates the direct production of multi-carbon liquid fuels from CO2 over an artificial leaf and, therefore, brings us a step closer to using sunlight to generate value-added complex products."

Driving on sunshine: clean, usable liquid fuels made from solar power | University of Cambridge Researchers have developed a solar-powered technology that converts carbon dioxide and water into liquid fuels that can be added directly to a car’s engine as drop-in fuel.

Solar-driven liquid multi-carbon fuel production using a standalone perovskite–BiVO4 artificial leaf (no public access)

Using bacteria to convert CO2 in the air into a polyester

Human ingenuity anytime trumps alarmism and hysteria like the Global Warming hoax and Climate Change religion! Let the engineers handle the conversion of CO2 if necessary at all!

Looks like we are about to develop a CO2 recycling capability that takes care of any alarmism and hysteria surrounding this life essential trace gas!

"A team of chemical and biomolecular engineers at Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology has developed a scalable way to use bacteria to convert CO2 in the air into a polyester. ..."

"... Liquid compounds of several carbons, such as ethanol, acetic acid, and propanol, can also be produced by these systems, but due to the nature of the chemical reaction that requires more electrons, there are limitations involving the conversion efficiency and the product selection. ..."

"Significance

Although the electrochemical reduction of CO2 into chemicals has been actively explored to address climate change, the products are mainly limited to C1-3 products. Herein, we show that the integration of CO2 electrolysis with microbial fermentation can efficiently produce value-added multicarbon products such as poly-3-hydroxybutyrate (PHB) from gaseous CO2. This biohybrid system comprises electrochemical conversion of CO2 to formate and subsequent biological conversion of formate to PHB by Cupriavidus necator. Optimization of the system to secure suitable conditions for both conversions allowed continuous production of PHB with high titer and productivity which is two orders of magnitude higher than the reported values. This work proposes an exceptional strategy for lowering CO2 emission and producing environmentally friendly bioplastics."

From the abstract:

"Converting anthropogenic [????] CO2 to value-added products using renewable energy has received much attention to achieve a sustainable carbon cycle. CO2 electrolysis has been extensively investigated, but the products have been limited to some C1-3 products. Here, we report the integration of CO2 electrolysis with microbial fermentation to directly produce poly-3-hydroxybutyrate (PHB), a microbial polyester, from gaseous CO2 on a gram scale. This biohybrid system comprises electrochemical conversion of CO2 to formate on Sn catalysts deposited on a gas diffusion electrode (GDE) and subsequent conversion of formate to PHB by Cupriavidus necator cells in a fermenter. The electrolyzer and the electrolyte solution were optimized for this biohybrid system. In particular, the electrolyte solution containing formate was continuously circulated through both the CO2 electrolyzer and the fermenter, resulting in the efficient accumulation of PHB in C. necator cells, reaching a PHB content of 83% of dry cell weight and producing 1.38 g PHB using 4 cm2 Sn GDE. This biohybrid system was further modified to enable continuous PHB production operated at a steady state by adding fresh cells and removing PHB. The strategies employed for developing this biohybrid system will be useful for establishing other biohybrid systems producing chemicals and materials directly from gaseous CO2."

Using bacteria to convert CO2 in the air into a polyester

A biohybrid system to extract 20 times more bioplastic from CO2 developed by KAIST researchers​

Biohybrid CO2 electrolysis for the direct synthesis of polyesters from CO2 (no public access)

Figure 1. Schematic diagram and photo of the biohybrid CO2 electrolysis system

A new iron-based catalyst converts carbon dioxide into jet fuel

Problem solved thanks to human ingenuity! Other, alternative solutions have already been developed or will emerge! 

Perhaps, one day we have planes that convert carbon dioxide into fuel as they fly! How about that!

Will the Global Warming hoax and the Climate Change religion finally end up in the dustbin of history, where it belongs!

"... Past attempts to convert carbon dioxide into fuel have relied on catalysts made of relatively expensive materials, like cobalt, and required multiple chemical processing steps. The new catalyst powder is made of inexpensive ingredients, including iron, and transforms CO2 in a single step. ..."

"... We report here a synthetic protocol to the fixation of carbon dioxide by converting it directly into aviation jet fuel using novel, inexpensive iron-based catalysts. We prepare the Fe-Mn-K catalyst by the so-called Organic Combustion Method, and the catalyst shows a carbon dioxide conversion through hydrogenation to hydrocarbons in the aviation jet fuel range of 38.2%, with a yield of 17.2%, and a selectivity of 47.8%, and with an attendant low carbon monoxide (5.6%) and methane selectivity (10.4%). The conversion reaction also produces light olefins ethylene, propylene, and butenes, totalling a yield of 8.7%, which are important raw materials for the petrochemical industry and are presently also only obtained from fossil crude oil. ..."

A new iron-based catalyst converts carbon dioxide into jet fuel | Science News Such technology could one day cut greenhouse gas emissions from air travel

Here is the respective research paper:

Transforming carbon dioxide into jet fuel using an organic combustion-synthesized Fe-Mn-K catalyst

New photocatalyst makes liquid fuel from carbon dioxide with few unwanted byproducts

Global Warming is a hoax! Climate change is a religion! Human ingenuity trumps!

Clearly, there are alternatives to so called renewable energy! E.g. nuclear power. Anyone who believes that so called renewable energy is environmentally friendly is fooling oneself!

New photocatalyst makes liquid fuel with few unwanted byproducts – Physics World A new photocatalyst sheet that uses light to convert carbon dioxide and water into a useful chemical fuel has been developed by Erwin Reisner and colleagues at the University of Cambridge. The device produces formic acid – a liquid fuel – with very few unwanted byproducts. With improvements to its conversion efficiency, the system could soon make an important contribution towards large-scale, carbon-neutral fuel production.