Imagine that we have a technology that can utilize electricity from renewable sources such as solar and wind power to turn CO2 into fuel? Such technology will be a great help for the mitigation of climate challenge, because then we will be able to terminate the CO2 accumulation in the atmosphere. But how to efficiently convert CO2?
In my research, I try to design a catalytic process that can convert CO2 as efficiently as possible. For this I employ a metal catalyst such as gold that can adsorb CO2 on its surface and with the help of designed molecules can convert CO2 into useful molecules such as carbon monoxide. Carbon monoxide, CO, can be used as an intermediate for fuel production or directly be converted into renewable type molecules such as formic acid.