Researchers from Tohoku University, Hokkaido University, and AZUL Energy, Inc. have developed an efficient method for converting carbon dioxide (CO2) into carbon monoxide (CO), an important building block for synthetic fuels. Their process sets a new standard by reducing the conversion time from 24 hours to just 15 minutes.

"CO2 to CO conversion is currently a hot topic for addressing climate change, but conventional techniques had major pitfalls that we wanted to address," said Liu Tengyi of WPI-AIMR at Tohoku University. "The materials were expensive, unstable, had limited selectivity, and took a long time to prepare. They simply wouldn't be feasible to use in a real industrial setting." (Tohoku University, more at scitechdaily.com)