Nathi Magubane, Penn Today
As human-made pollutants carbon monoxide (CO) and carbon dioxide (CO₂) continue to accumulate in Earth’s atmosphere, fueling climate change and threatening ecological balance, researchers are searching for new ways to recycle these chemicals into cleaner power sources and products.
Multi-carbon products like ethylene (C₂H₄) hold the promise to turn carbon’s doom into a boon. It’s a molecule held together by strong bonds formed by its carbon atoms sharing electrons. When these bonds are broken, like in combustion, they can release that stored energy as heat, making these compounds a useful fuel source. If they stay intact, they can serve as building blocks for countless manufactured goods, from packaging to textiles and pharmaceuticals.
But the chemistry behind turning CO and CO₂ into multi-carbon products like C₂H₄ is notoriously tricky. So much so, even popular metals like copper catalysts can often produce unwanted byproducts or waste energy in side reactions.
Now, researchers led by University of Pennsylvania materials scientist and engineer Anthony Shoji Hall have uncovered an unlikely ally in the fight to make good carbon-based products from carbon waste: the surface of water.