Drawing inspiration from nature, a group of chemists from Boston College developed a multi-catalyst system for converting carbon dioxide into methanol.
The design for the system includes a tandem catalyst in a single system using a metal-organic framework (MOF). MOF materials refer to a type of compound composed of metal ions coordinated to organic ligands, resulting in a sponge-like material.
A Highly Active Method for Carbon Dioxide Conversion
In the research paper's summary, it described the system as being "highly active for converting hydrogen and carbon dioxide to methanol." It adds that the configuration could be "formulated to be readily recyclable.
The MOF holds the catalysts in place. In the report published in the chemistry journal "Chem," the Boston College report noted that without the MOF frame to isolate the catalysts from each other, the hydrogenation of carbon monoxide to methanol failed.
Lead authors of the report, Boston College's Chemistry Associate Professors Jeffery Byers and Frank Tsung, said that the team was inspired by natural processes involving multicomponent catalyst systems to convert basic materials into "complex molecules that are essential for life."
Super excited to share our latest collaborative effort with Frank Tsung describing how the tandem catalytic conversion of CO2 to MeOH benefits from encapsulating catalysts in MOFs! Congrats @NotMance and @enricadillon! Big ups to @doescience for the $!
https://t.co/rl7L7neh63 — Jeffery Byers (@j_a_byers) May 5, 2020
The design began with using a host-guest chemistry. A "guest" molecule is introduced and encapsulated inside a "host" substance to create the resulting chemical compound - allowing a more efficient method of carbon dioxide to methanol conversion.
Tsung explained that the resulting construct is applied "in catalysis in tandem with another transition metal complex." Byers explained that they are looking to develop approaches in integrating incompatible catalysts for carbon dioxide - methanol conversion at low temperatures and high selectivity.
Previous Studies on Carbon Dioxide to Methanol Conversion
The latest report from Boston College opens possibilities for obtaining fuel from readily available renewable resources. In the website for The Methanol Institute, the global trade association for methanol production, manufacturing, and distribution, it reports that this industry spans the entire globe. Close to a hundred methanol plants deliver up to 110 million metric tons of the material, which is used in a variety of applications as an energy source and a raw material for the production of other products.
In 2018, a team from Penn State University has made advancement to the existing process of converting carbon dioxide to methanol. They developed a catalyst created from palladium and copper. The report details how a specific ratio of the two metals created a more efficient catalyst, resulting in three times more methanol conversion over palladium alone and four times over copper alone.
The joint project between Penn State University and China's Dalian University of Technology revealed the surprising difference of the Palladium-Copper ratio over using either of the metals. Professor Chunshan Song, director of the Earth and Mineral Sciences' Energy Institute, compared the process to a cat catching a mouse. For an active conversion, the carbon dioxide is that cat that has to catch the hydrogen - the mouse. However, ideal conditions must be set up through the catalyst to increase the cat's chances of success.
The conventional method of converting carbon dioxide, one of the most abundant greenhouse gases, to methanol is through hydrogenation. Water is decomposed to create hydrogen gas, which in turn bonds with carbon dioxide over a catalytic surface to create methanol.
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