A new composite material, based on the interaction between cerium oxide and carbon nanostructures, has been developed in a study coordinated by the University of Trieste and the University of Bologna and published in Advanced Functional Materials. The material has demonstrated the ability to convert CO₂ electrochemically with high energy efficiency, while using a significantly reduced amount of catalytically active components.

Carbon dioxide, the main greenhouse gas and a direct driver of global warming, is at the centre of international research efforts towards a net-zero economy. Electrocatalysis is one of the most promising strategies for transforming CO₂ into products useful to industry, while also contributing to the decarbonisation of production processes.

As Michele Melchionna, Professor of General and Inorganic Chemistry at the University of Trieste, who co-authored the study with Giovanni Valenti of the University of Bologna, explains ‘The catalytic conversion of CO₂ is one of the most interesting and relevant challenges in the current scientific landscape and must be integrated into sustainable processes such as photocatalysis or electrocatalysis. This requires the development of rather complex catalytic materials, since the efficiency of CO₂ chemical conversion critically depends on a precise balance of the catalyst’s properties. For this reason, a highly effective strategy is to exploit the appropriate interfacing of multiple phases, as in our project.’

Paolo Fornasiero, Professor of General and Inorganic Chemistry at UniTS and co-author of the study together with UniTS researcher Miriam Marchi, highlights another key aspect of the work: ‘In a politically unstable context, where the extraction and distribution of strategic chemical elements are heavily dependent on geopolitics, it becomes increasingly important to maximise catalytic efficiency and material stability, thereby reducing the quantities needed to achieve performance that is industrially acceptable.’

The study also involved research groups from the University of Padua and the San Sebastián CIC biomaGUNE research centre and was carried out with the support of several projects, including the European H2020 Decade project and the Italian PRIN-PNRR ECHO-EF and PRIDE projects. 

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