Hybrid Organic–Inorganic Heterostructures for Photocatalytic CO2 Conversion
Participants: Eric Altman, Yale School of Engineering & Applied Science; Charles Ahn, Departments of Applied Physics, of Mechanical Engineering, and of Physics; Nilay Hazari, Department of Chemistry; Sohrab Ismail-Beigi, Departments of Applied Physics, of Mechanical Engineering, of Materials Science and of Physics; Frederick Walker
Making fuels from captured CO2 could transform aviation, shipping, and trucking— industries that are particularly tough to decarbonize, as their large fuel-dependent engines do not lend themselves to electric alternatives. A way around the problem could be to make those fuels carbon-neutral by capturing CO2 and using light energy to transform it into fuel precursors like methanol. With this grant, researchers will explore a composite catalyst that links a photoabsorbent semiconductor layer to an oxide layer. The semiconductor uses light to excite electrons, which then migrate via the oxide layer to the catalytic surface where they react with and reduce CO2 molecules.