China finds a new way to capture carbon

Chemists have developed a microstructure that could potentially improve the chemistry of capturing carbon from the atmosphere.

The nanostructure that combines copper, gold and silver improves carbon capture.

The work, led by Tianjin University and the Institute of Physics of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, uses nanostructures that combine copper, gold and silver to act as a transcendental catalyst.

The three-metal structure, which is asymmetrical in form, speeds up the electrochemical carbon dioxide reduction reaction, an important step towards drawing carbon from the atmosphere and using them as feedstock for industrial chemicals, according to the report. The study was recently published in the journal Nano Research

The reaction uses electricity to convert greenhouse gases into other useful substances by separating carbon atoms from their oxygen atoms.

The researchers changed the shape and proportions of the three metals using a "nanopyramid" as a "seed" for further growth, creating a unique form of amorphous structure.

Thanks to such structural differences, they were able to adjust selectivity for different C2-based products. For example, ethanol (C2H5OH) production has been maximized using nanostructures with a ratio of one gold and silver atom to five copper atoms.