Author Archives: Wenqiang Qu

To accelerate the transition from fossil fuels to sustainable energy, researchers at the Solar Fuels Group, in collaboration with Hydrofuel Canada Incorporated, are spearheading advancements in hydrogen-based energy carriers powered by sunlight. In a recent article titled “Let’s Get Cracking … Continue reading →

Traditional gas-phase heterogeneous catalysis, reliant on fossil-fuel-derived heat and associated with a significant carbon footprint, is on the cusp of a transformative shift toward more sustainable alternatives. In the recent article “The Changing Face of Heterogeneous Catalysis”, Geoff provides a … Continue reading →

Today is Geoff’s 79th birthday. Besides celebrating it online with family, friends, colleagues and alumni on the topic of “ride the train, save the world”, a birthday paper entitled “Accelerated optochemical engineering solutions to CO2 photocatalysis for a sustainable future” … Continue reading →

Direct air capture technology removes carbon dioxide from the air and compresses it for sequestration or utilization and promises to help us meet net-zero emissions goals. However, the process of direct air capture can be energy and land intensive and … Continue reading →

Have you ever wondered how much solar heat is stored in the deserts of the world and wasted. Imagine if it could be utilized! We all know under the threat of climate change that cost-effective energy storage solutions is a … Continue reading →

CO2-to-methanol catalysis is an appealing way for the production of solar fuels. The benchmark catalyst is the decades-old Cu/ZnO/Al2O3 that demonstrates high stability and high activity, but it should be operated under high hydrogen concentration (>75%) and high pressure to … Continue reading →

Besides acting as the most widely used semiconductor materials, silicon in oxide form (silica SiO2) has attracted broad interests in environmental and energy catalysis recently due to the low cost, non-toxicity and ubiquitous presence in the Earth’s crust. In this … Continue reading →

Catalyst stability is the most important parameter for industrial application. For example, Cu is a prestigious CO2 catalyst, but its durability is partially limited by the sintering of Cu nanoparticles under high temperature. Increasing the Cu-support interaction can enhance stability, … Continue reading →

Chemical industry is a stubborn sector for decarbonization but the benefits could be enormous. To cut the emission of chemical industry, current solution is electrification of which the power is supplied by grid electricity, while the long-term goal is to … Continue reading →

A global energy transition is expected to increase the share of renewable energy from current 12% to 90% in 2050. Different from the on-demand fossil fuel, inteminent renewable energy including solar and wind calls for large-scale, cost-effective grid-scale energy storage … Continue reading →