Using copper to convert CO₂ into methane could be a game changer in mitigating climate change

Carbon in the atmosphere is a major driver of climate change. Now, researchers at McGill University have designed a new catalyst for converting carbon dioxide (CO₂) into methane—a cleaner energy source—using tiny bits of copper called nanoclusters. While the traditional method of producing methane from fossil fuels introduces more CO₂ in the atmosphere, but the new process, electrocatalysis, does not do that.

“On sunny days you can use solar energy, or if it’s windy you can use that wind to produce renewable electricity, but once you produce that electricity, you have to use it,” says Mahdi Salehi, a Ph.D. candidate in the Electrocatalysis Lab at McGill University. “But in our case, we can use that renewable but intermittent electricity to store the energy in chemicals like methane.”

By using copper nanoclusters, Salehi says, carbon dioxide from the atmosphere could be converted into methane, and once the methane is used, all of the released carbon dioxide could be captured and “recycled” back into methane. This would create a closed “carbon loop” that doesn’t release new carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. The research, published recently in the journal Applied Catalysis B: Environment and Energywas made possible by the Canadian Light Source (CLS) at the University of Saskatchewan (USask).

“In our simulations, we used copper catalysts of different sizes, from small ones with only 19 atoms to larger ones with 1,000 atoms,” Salehi says. “We then tested them in the lab, focusing on how the sizes of the clusters affected the reaction mechanism.”

“Our main finding was that extremely small copper nanoclusters are very effective in producing methane,” Salehi continued. “This was a significant discovery, indicating that the size and structure of the copper nanoclusters play a crucial role in the outcome of the reaction.”

The team plans to further refine their catalyst to make it more efficient and explore its large-scale, industrial applications. They hope their findings will open up new avenues for producing clean, sustainable energy.