Using DNA to Turn Carbon Dioxide Into Valuable Products

Arthur T Knackerbracket has processed the following story:

Carbon dioxide (CO₂) is a major contributor to climate change and a significant product of many human activities, notably industrial manufacturing. A major goal in the energy field has been to chemically convert emitted CO₂ into valuable chemicals or fuels. But while CO₂ is available in abundance, it has not yet been widely used to generate value-added products. Why not?

The reason is that CO₂ molecules are highly stable and therefore not prone to being chemically converted to a different form. Researchers have sought materials and device designs that could help spur that conversion, but nothing has worked well enough to yield an efficient, cost-effective system.

[...] The challenge begins with the first step in the CO₂ conversion process. Before being transformed into a useful product, CO₂ must be chemically converted into carbon monoxide (CO). [...]

To explore opportunities for improving this process, Furst and her research group focused on the electrocatalyst, a material that enhances the rate of a chemical reaction without being consumed in the process. The catalyst is key to successful operation. [...]

But there's one stumbling block: The catalyst and the CO₂ must meet on the surface of the electrode for the reaction to occur. [...]

[...] What was needed was a way to position the small-molecule catalyst firmly and accurately on the electrode and then release it when it degrades. For that task, Furst turned to what she and her team regard as a kind of "programmable molecular Velcro": deoxyribonucleic acid, or DNA.

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