Abstract. Image credit: University of Tsukuba. The global climate continues to change due to carbon dioxide pollution. Science Advances revealed how researchers can detect such pollutants, even on a regional and near-instant basis (April 22, 2022). Numerous research studies are focused on how to convert carbon dioxide pollution into a fuel, such as methanol, as part of an answer to the pollution problem. Copper catalysts can be used for these transformations. For the best possible conversion of carbon dioxide pollution into methanol fuel, it is necessary to know the relevant step-by-step chemistry. However, the specifics of this chemistry are still unknown. tests are needed to validate existing ideas based on computer simulation. Now, researchers from the University of Tsukuba and colleagues have experimentally evaluated the hydrogenation of copper-adsorbed formate in a paper just published in the Journal of the American Chemical Society. This study will help to optimize the key processes in the aforementioned pollutant-to-fuel process, accelerating methanol production. Hydrogenation of carbon dioxide to methanol is a potential key technology for the production of fuels and chemical feedstocks, but optimization of the reaction remains difficult. This is because it is difficult to detect experimental chemical intermediates in the step-by-step reaction mechanism. Dr. Kotaro Takeyasu, Senior Study Author and Assistant Professor, School of Pure and Applied Sciences, University of Tsukuba Two important results required the use of temperature-programmed desorption and reflectance infrared spectroscopy. First, exposure to atomic hydrogen caused the hydrogenation of adsorbed formate at a temperature of 200 K. The specific chemical composition of the product is not yet known. Furthermore, it was found that hydrogenated formate converted back to adsorbed formate or formaldehyde gas in a ratio of 96:4 at 250 K. Based on our experimental and computational work, the activation energy of hydrogenation of adsorbed formate is about 121 kilojoules per mole. Our results are consistent with the reported results of methanol synthesis studies. Dr. Kotaro Takeyasu, Senior Study Author and Assistant Professor, School of Pure and Applied Sciences, University of Tsukuba In this line of work, copper-zinc alloys are particularly prevalent. The research team is currently comparing the activation energies found in the present work with highly relevant catalytic alloys, which also need experimental and computational investigations. Researchers will be able to better produce methanol from carbon dioxide, according to the findings of this study. Such efforts will help turn air pollution into automotive fuel and industrial chemical raw materials. It offers a way to add more value to carbon dioxide, which is usually considered waste. Researchers may have devised a new method to maximize the use of limited resources by improving the hydrogenation reaction discussed here. This research was supported in part by grants from the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science for Innovative Area “Hydrogenomics” (Grant No. JP18H05519), for Transformative Research Areas (A) “Over-ordered Structure Science” (Grant No. JP20H05883) , and for Challenging Research (grant no. JP20K21099).
Journal Reference:
Takeyasu, K., et al. (2022) Hydrogenation of formate species using atomic hydrogen on a model Cu(111) catalyst. Journal of the American Chemical Society. doi.org/10.1021/jacs.2c02797. Source:
