90 seconds for valuable resources: GABO:mi interview with Prof Krueger, coordinator of the DIACAT project
The multinational collaborative FET-Open project DIACAT aims to develop a completely new technology for the direct photocatalytic conversion of CO2 into fine chemicals and fuels using visible light. The innovative approach utilises the unique property of man-made diamond, now widely available at low economic cost, to generate solvated electrons upon light irradiation in solutions (e.g. in water and ionic liquids). To date only nature has been able to create organic substances from sunlight and the gas carbon dioxide, which is available in abundance in the Earth’s atmosphere – doing so in a simple water environment. The scientific world is also keen to master this skill in order to use it to produce fine chemicals or fuels for cars and energy generation. This might work with new technologies based on tailor-made diamond materials. The approach of the DIACAT consortium lays the foundation for the removal and transformation of carbon dioxide and at the same time a chemical route to store and transport energy from renewable sources. This will have a transformational impact on society as whole by bringing new opportunities for sustainable production and growth. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8OfjtsxcgPA#t=14
Keywords
Diamond materials, Photocatalysis
Countries
Germany, France, Sweden, United Kingdom