Defects in nanosilica catalytically convert CO <sub>2</sub> to methane without any metal and ligand
Amit Mishra, Rajesh Belgamwar, Rajkumar Jana, Ayan Datta, Vivek Polshettiwar
Abstract
Significance Reducing the CO 2 levels in Earth’s atmosphere is key to stop further environmental degradation. CO 2 conversion to methane (green fuel) using renewable hydrogen is considered as one of the best options with great potential for simultaneously resolving energy and environmental challenges, although the production of hydrogen from renewable resources also needs to be economically viable. Unfortunately, this process needs an expensive metal or complex organometallics and most of them suffer from instability and poor selectivity toward methane. In this work, using the defect engineering approach, we develop metal-free–ligand-free nanocatalysts, which convert CO 2 to methane at the significant rates, scales, and stabilities.