Catalytic Reduction of Carbon Monoxide to Liquid Fuels with Recyclable Hydride Donors
Abstract
Solar light absorption and catalysis are physically separated processes in natural photosynthesis. Natural cofactors, such as nicotinamide adenine dinucleotides (NADH), transport electrons and hydrogen to regulate and activate enzymes at remote locations. The physical separation of light absorption from catalysis provides some inspiration for artificial photosynthesis. One rather extreme implementation is to use copper wires to transport carriers from photovoltaic cells to dark electrodes, where catalysis occurs. Indeed, with a futuristic electrical grid powered solely by photovoltaics, solar capture could be separated from catalysis by hundreds of miles. An alternative approach, that bares more similarity to natural photosynthesis, employs mobile NADH/NAD+-like species that shuttle between the light absorber and a proximate, yet unilluminated, location where catalysis occurs. Additionally, such a remote approach to solar photocatalysis was recently proposed for the reduction of carbon oxides, CO2 and CO, to methanol by cascade catalysis. This developing artificial photosynthetic approach offers the promise of catalytic generation of methanol and oxygen gas with sunlight as the sole energy source and CO2 and water as the only chemical feedstocks. This Viewpoint evaluates the strengths and weaknesses of this approach with an emphasis on CO reduction catalysis with photorecyclable hydride donors while looking forward to what might reasonably be achieved with continued research.
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Ammonia exhibits a liquid volumetric energy density of approximately 12.7 MJ/L, which is lower than that of methanol (15.6 MJ/L) and gasoline (32 MJ/L) but significantly higher than that of liquid hydrogen (8.5 MJ/L).
“In the context of next-generation carbon-free fuels, ammonia exhibits a liquid volumetric energy density of approximately 12.7 MJ/L [301], which is lower than that of methanol (15.6 MJ/L) and gasoline (32 MJ/L) [302] but significantly higher than that of liquid hydrogen (8.5 MJ/L) [301].”
From Biofuels, E-Fuels, and Waste-Derived Fuels: Advances, Challenges, and Future Directions (2025) · cites this paper as [302]
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Biofuels, E-Fuels, and Waste-Derived Fuels: Advances, Challenges, and Future Directions
Yılbaşı, Z. (2025) · Sustainability · doi:10.3390/su17136145 · Cited by 41 · see citing works
- Authors
- Concepcion, J. J., Sampaio, R. N., & Meyer, G. J.
- Affiliations
- Brookhaven National Laboratory (US)
- University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (US)
- Corresponding author
- Concepcion, Javier J.
- Sampaio, Renato N.
- Meyer, Gerald J.
- Venue
- ACS Catalysis
- Publisher
- American Chemical Society (ACS)
- Published
- 2024-10-24
- Volume
- 14
- Issue
- 22
- Pages
- 16562-16569
- ISSN
- 2155-5435 (ISSN-L)
- OpenAlex
- W4403715975
- Cited by
- 8
- References
- 66
- Citations by year
- 2026: 1 · 2025: 7
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Licence
- Locations
- ACS Catalysis (publishedVersion)
- OSTI OAI (U.S. Department of Energy Office of Scientific and Technical Information) (submittedVersion)
- Funders
- Basic Energy Sciences (DE-SC0021173)
- Topics
- Physical Sciences › Energy › Renewable Energy, Sustainability and the Environment › Advanced Photocatalysis Techniques
- Physical Sciences › Energy › Renewable Energy, Sustainability and the Environment › CO2 Reduction Techniques and Catalysts
- Physical Sciences › Chemical Engineering › Catalysis › Catalysts for Methane Reforming
- Keywords
- carbon monoxide reduction, liquid fuels, artificial photosynthesis, solar photocatalysis, methanol synthesis, cascade catalysis, copper wire, CO2 reduction
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