Aquaneers Inc — Department of Energy SBIR Phase I: 22c

Description

The catalytic utilization of carbon dioxide to make products such as fuels or other high-value chemicals is important to stem the accumulation of the gas in the atmosphere, which can represent an economically viable solution and commercial opportunity if enabled by technological advances. Aquaneers proposes to develop a novel photocatalytic nanomaterial for use in innovative, optically powered flow-reactors for the synthesis of methanol from carbon dioxide and hydrogen feedstocks. This work will be performed in collaboration with Corning Inc., New York University, Brookhaven National Laboratory, and the University of South Carolina. The approach exploits the phenomena of plasmon resonance that is manifested in metallic nanostructures to engineer a novel photocatalyst platform that lowers activation energies while utilizing optical energy to power the synthesis of methanol. An innovative catalytic nanomaterial will be fabricated and demonstrated using a flow-reactor. In Phase I, plasmonic nanorod arrays will be fabricated from silver on flexible glass substrates and coated with a Cu-Pd bimetallic catalyst layer by electroless deposition. This nanomaterial is the photo-catalytically active component in a flow-reactor design that will be implemented in the project. The engineered nanomaterials optical and physical properties will be thoroughly characterized, and their efficacy in catalyzing the hydrogenation of carbon dioxide to synthesize methanol will be quantified using an optically powered flow reactor. A full cost analysis will be undertaken. The proposed photocatalytic nanomaterials and the flow-reactor that utilizes them have commercial applications if the project is successful through Phase II. The synthesis of methanol from carbon dioxide also has potential societal benefits if it can be used to mitigate global warming. The proposed technology can enable a new generation of reactors to be built that can operate on optical power, potentially tapping into solar energy. The technology has cross applications to the synthesis of other materials and fuels if successful.