In China, carbon dioxide or CO2 can potentially be used as a feedstock to be converted into carbon-neutral “solar fuels” that store energy from the sun. But for them to be competitive with fossil fuels, the chemical reaction that performs this conversion needs much more efficient catalysts. Researchers have recently come up with a photocatalyst structure involving isolated single atoms of copper in a polymer framework that radically enhances catalyst performance. A description of the novel catalyst was published by Chinese researchers in the journal Nano Research.
