Covalently immobilised molecular catalysts for carbon dioxide reduction

Concerns about fossil fuel depletion and rising carbon emissions have overseen a growing need for sustainable carbon dioxide (CO2) transformation to valuable products. The project aims to use sunlight to recycle CO2 back into fuels by developing covalently anchored molecular catalysts onto active semiconductor surface with the aid of theoretical calculations. Current photocatalytic technology is too inefficient and costly to work on a large scale. This project will use innovative molecular engineering to covalently fix light-harvester to semiconductors. The outcome will be an efficient system to enhance CO2 conversion, which will not only reduce the environmental impact but also generate a cheap source of energy by closing the carbon loop.