New Technologies for Selective Carbon Dioxide Reduction

EPSRC : Leah Webster : EP/R513052/1

The rise of carbon dioxide concentrations in the atmosphere and the increasing global energy demand are two of the greatest problems facing humanity. A solution to this would be to convert carbon dioxide into a useful chemical, ideally one that could be used as a fuel. In this research a new route to perform this challenging transformation will be developed, by using a new catalysts.

Catalysts are species that speed up reactions to make them economically and practically viable. Whereas previous research has used catalysts based on rare and expensive metals such as Ruthenium, the catalyst this project will develop will use iron, an abundant and cheap metal, thereby giving a sustainable solution to the carbon crisis.