Catalyst breakthrough for efficient CO2 conversion

Catalyst breakthrough for efficient CO2 conversion
by Riko Seibo
Tokyo, Japan (SPX) Feb 24, 2025

Global climate change and rising carbon emissions have intensified the need for innovative methods that transform CO2 into valuable products. Researchers are now focusing on converting carbon dioxide into chemical fuels and compounds to address both environmental challenges and energy demands.

At the Korea Institute of Materials Science, Dr Dahee Park leads a team in the Nano Materials Research Division that has partnered with Professor Jeong-Young Park's group from the Department of Chemistry at KAIST. Together, they have engineered a novel catalyst technology aimed at significantly boosting the efficiency of carbon dioxide conversion processes.

Conventional CO2 conversion methods have long struggled with low efficiency and high energy requirements, factors that have stalled their commercial application. In particular, single-atom catalysts have been hampered by complex synthesis techniques and unstable bonding with metal oxide supports, limiting their durability and overall performance.

To overcome these obstacles, the research team introduced both single-atom and dual-single-atom catalyst technologies via a streamlined synthesis process. By exploiting the electronic interactions present in dual-atom configurations, their approach achieves markedly higher conversion rates and outstanding selectivity toward desired products.

A key element of this breakthrough lies in the precise control of oxygen vacancies and defect structures within metal oxide supports. These engineered vacancies enhance CO2 adsorption on the catalyst surface, while the single and dual-atom sites promote effective hydrogen uptake. The synergy of these features drives the conversion reaction toward producing targeted compounds with maximum efficiency.

The team employed an aerosol-assisted spray pyrolysis method to synthesize the catalysts by transforming liquid precursors into a fine mist that reacts in a heated chamber. This simplified technique not only eliminates complex intermediate steps but also ensures uniform dispersion of metal atoms and meticulous control over defect structures. Using dual-single-atom catalysts, the process cuts the need for single-atom catalysts by nearly 50 percent while achieving more than double the CO2 conversion efficiency and reaching a selectivity exceeding 99 percent.

This innovative catalyst technology offers broad applications across chemical fuel synthesis, hydrogen production, and the wider clean energy industry. Its straightforward production process and high efficiency make it a promising candidate for commercialization, potentially playing a vital role in reducing greenhouse gas emissions and advancing carbon neutrality.

Dr Dahee Park, the lead researcher, stated, "This technology represents a significant achievement in drastically improving the performance of CO2 conversion catalysts while enabling commercialization through a simplified process. It is expected to serve as a core technology for achieving carbon neutrality." Professor Jeong-Young Park from KAIST added, "This research provides a relatively simple method for synthesizing a new type of single-atom catalyst that can be used in various chemical reactions. It also offers a crucial foundation for the development of CO2 decomposition and utilization catalysts, which is one of the most urgent research areas for addressing global warming caused by greenhouse gases."

Research Report:Insights into the synergy effect in dual single-atom catalysts on defective CeO2 under CO2 hydrogenation