The extraction and combustion of fossil natural gas, consisting primarily of methane, generates vast amounts of greenhouse gases that contribute to climate change. However, as a result of recent research efforts, “solar methane” can now be produced through the photo-catalytic conversion of carbon dioxide and water to methane and oxygen. This approach could play an integral role in realizing a sustainable energy economy by closing the carbon cycle and enabling the efficient storage and transportation of intermittent solar energy within the chemical bonds of methane molecules. In this article, Uli and co-authors explore the latest research and development activities involving the light-assisted conversion of carbon dioxide to methane.
See full article at Nature Communications.