Caltech chemists develop new system to convert CO2 into molecules

In California, a team of Caltech chemists have developed a system that uses electricity from sustainable sources to carry out the chemical conversion of carbon dioxide (CO2) into molecules, such as ethylene and carbon monoxide, that are useful for making more complex compounds. When this is accomplished using light as the energy source, without plants, such a process is known as artificial photosynthesis. The new system feeds the ethylene and carbon monoxide that has been generated into a second catalytic loop that yields industrially useful plastics called polyketones, which are known for their strength, durability, and thermal stability, making them ideal for applications ranging from adhesives to car parts and from sports equipment to industrial piping.

The conversion of CO2 all the way to plastic has been challenging for a number of reasons. Among those is the fact that previous electrochemical CO2 reduction systems have yielded very little ethylene and carbon monoxide, the reagents needed to feed the second step of the conversion to polyketones. In fact, most have produced less than 5 percent concentrations of these desired compounds, along with other undesired chemicals that can potentially harm downstream processes.