International research team has developed new way to convert CO2 into green methanol

Scientists from the UK, Germany and Australia have successfully converted carbon dioxide (CO2) into methanol, a green fuel, using a new technique that they have developed. The research involved chemists from the University of Birmingham, the University of Ulm, the University of Queensland and was led by scientists at the School of Chemistry at the University of Nottingham. The new approach does not require the use of hydrogen, as is the case of the existing methods of converting CO2 into useful products. It employs a technology called photocatalysis, in which light is shone on a semiconductor material, so exciting electrons and allowing them to move through the material and react with CO2 and water. This produces a range of useful products, including methanol. But, hitherto, this process has suffered from inefficiency and inadequate selectivity.