Water-soluble catalyst converts carbon dioxide to promising green fuel
23-Jul-2013
- USA
Scientists in the United States have developed a water-soluble catalyst that can selectively reduce carbon dioxide to formate, a promising green fuel for fuel cells.
Researchers describe the design of an iridium pincer catalyst that electrocatalytically reduces carbon dioxide to formate in water. The homogeneous catalyst is highly selective towards formate, which forms in 93% yield without the formation of unwanted side-products such as carbon monoxide and methane. The catalyst works with water as the reaction solvent, with the addition of a small amount of acetonitrile to sustain the reaction.
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