
USC VITERBI CHEMICAL ENGINEERS ARE MODELING A METHOD TO USE VISIBLE LIGHT TO REDUCE CARBON DIOXIDE IN THE ATMOSPHERE. IMAGE/PEXELS
Shaama Sharada calls carbon dioxide — the worst offender of global warming — a very stable, “very happy molecule.”
She aims to change that.
Recently published in the Journal of Physical Chemistry A, Sharada and a team of researchers at the USC Viterbi School of Engineering seek to break CO2 apart and convert the greenhouse gas into useful materials like fuels or consumer products ranging from pharmaceuticals to polymers.
Typically, this process requires a tremendous amount of energy. However, in the first computational study of its kind, Sharada and her team enlisted a more sustainable ally: the sun.
Specifically, they demonstrated that ultraviolet (UV) light could be very effective in exciting an organic molecule, oligophenylene. Upon exposure to UV, oligophenylene becomes a negatively charged “anion,” readily transferring electrons to the nearest molecule, such as CO2 — thereby making the CO2 reactive and able to be reduced and converted into things like plastics, drugs or even furniture.
“CO2 is notoriously hard to reduce, which is why it lives for decades in the atmosphere,” Sharada said. “But this negatively charged anion is capable of reducing even something as stable as CO2, which is why it’s promising and why we are studying it.”
An Urgent Need, A Promising Approach
The rapidly growing concentration of carbon dioxide in the earth’s atmosphere is one of the most urgent issues humanity must address to avoid a climate catastrophe.
Since the start of the industrial age, humans have increased atmospheric CO2 by 45%, through the burning of fossil fuels and other emissions. As a result, average global temperatures are now two degrees Celsius warmer than the pre-industrial era. Thanks to greenhouse gases like CO2, the heat from the sun is remaining trapped in our atmosphere, warming our planet.
The research team from the Mork Family Department of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science was led by third year Ph.D. student Kareesa Kron, supervised by Sharada, a WISE Gabilan Assistant Professor. The work was co-authored by Samantha J. Gomez from Francisco Bravo Medical Magnet High School, who has been part of the USC Young Researchers Program, allowing high school students from underrepresented areas to take part in STEM research.
Many research teams are looking at methods to convert CO2 that has been captured from emissions into fuels or carbon-based feedstocks for consumer products ranging from pharmaceuticals to polymers.
The process traditionally uses either heat or electricity along with a catalyst to speed up CO2 conversion into products. However, many of these methods are often energy intensive, which is not ideal for a process aiming to reduce environmental impacts. Using sunlight instead to excite the catalyst molecule is attractive because it is energy efficient and sustainable.
“Most other ways to do this involve using metal-based chemicals, and those metals are rare earth metals,” said Sharada. “They can be expensive, they are hard to find and they can potentially be toxic.”
Sharada said the alternative is to use carbon-based organic catalysts for carrying out this light-assisted conversion. However, this method presents challenges of its own, which the research team aims to address. The team uses quantum chemistry simulations to understand how electrons move between the catalyst and CO2 to identify the most viable catalysts for this reaction.
Sharada said the work was the first computational study of its kind, in that researchers had not previously examined the underlying mechanism of moving an electron from an organic molecule like oligophenylene to CO2. The team found that they can carry out systematic modifications to the oligophenylene catalyst, by adding groups of atoms that impart specific properties when bonded to molecules, that tend to push electrons towards the center of the catalyst, to speed up the reaction.
Despite the challenges, Sharada is excited about the opportunities for her team.
“One of those challenges is that, yes, they can harness radiation, but very little of it is in the visible region, where you can shine light on it in order for the reaction to occur,” said Sharada. “Typically, you need a UV lamp to make it happen.”
Sharada said that the team is now exploring catalyst design strategies that not only lead to high reaction rates but also allow for the molecule to be excited by visible light, using both quantum chemistry and genetic algorithms.
The Youngest Researcher
The research paper marks high school student Gomez’s first co-authored publication in a prestigious peer-reviewed journal.
Gomez was a senior at the Bravo Medical Magnet school at the time she took part in the USC Young Researchers Program over the summer, working in Sharada’s lab. She was directly mentored and trained in theory and simulations by Kron. Sharada said Gomez’s contributions were so impressive that the team agreed she deserved an authorship on the paper.
Gomez said that she enjoyed the opportunity to work on important research contributing to environmental sustainability. She said her role involved conducting computational research, calculating which structures were able to significantly reduce CO2.
“Traditionally we are shown that research comes from labs where you have to wear lab coats and work with hazardous chemicals,” Gomez said. “I enjoyed that every day I was always learning new things about research that I didn’t know could be done simply through computer programs.”
“The first-hand experience that I gained was simply the best that I could’ve asked for, since it allowed me to explore my interest in the chemical engineering field and see how there are many ways that life-saving research can be achieved,” Gomez said.
The Latest Updates from Bing News & Google News
Go deeper with Bing News on:
CO2 conversion
- Energean Plans $500 Million Carbon Storage and H2 Facilityon February 25, 2021 at 1:39 pm
Energean Plc submitted a proposal to the Greek government to build a carbon dioxide storage facility and a hydrogen plant in northern Greece close to its old Prinos oil field.
- Noya Labs turns cooling towers into direct air capture devices for CO2 emissionson February 24, 2021 at 6:34 am
Not every company’s founders find themselves on a first-name basis with the local bomb squad, but then again not every company is Noya Labs, which wants to turn the roughly 2 million cooling towers at ...
- Using genes to improve greenhouse gases conversionon February 22, 2021 at 9:00 pm
Greenhouse gas waste from factories could be turned into environmentally-friendly chemicals and fuels under an international project seeking to better understand the gene function of bacteria.
- A Sponge to Soak Up Carbon Dioxide in the Airon February 22, 2021 at 7:06 am
Increasingly, scientists are recognizing that negative emissions technologies (NETs) to remove and sequester carbon dioxide from the atmosphere will be an essential component in the strategy to ...
- Cow excrement tapped by town in Hokkaido for CO2-free poweron February 21, 2021 at 2:00 pm
SAPPORO--The feces and urine of thousands of Hokkaido dairy cows may soon power facilities prefecture-wide with a world-first technology invented in Japan that converts them into environmentally ...
Go deeper with Google Headlines on:
CO2 conversion
Go deeper with Bing News on:
Carbon dixoide conversion
- Everything you need to know about Nepal’s carbon trade dealon February 28, 2021 at 12:48 am
Nepal will receive $5 for every tonne of carbon dioxide emission reduced as country embarks on earning up to Rs5 billion by selling 9 million tonnes of CO2 by 2025.
- Citizens Climate Education: Things to Do Now to Reduce Your Carbon Footprinton February 27, 2021 at 2:53 am
Guest Opinion by Judith Anderson The last year, 2020, is now tied with the year 2016 for the highest globally averaged temperatures in recorded history, ac ...
- Energean Plans $500 Million Carbon Storage and H2 Facilityon February 25, 2021 at 1:39 pm
Energean Plc submitted a proposal to the Greek government to build a carbon dioxide storage facility and a hydrogen plant in northern Greece close to its old Prinos oil field.
- Sugarcane and the Creation of Carbon-Negative Hydrogenon February 25, 2021 at 1:37 am
Professor Damien Batstone speaks to AZoCleantech about his game-changing research on how sugarcane can be used as a clean energy source to produce hydrogen.
- Fort Collins carbon report released, emissions down 7%on February 23, 2021 at 10:45 pm
The Collegian) In January, the City of Fort Collins released its annual Community Carbon Inventory report for 2019 as part of its broader Clim ...