Ruthenium Single-Atom Catalyst Converts CO2 to Formic Acid at 99% Selectivity

nationaltribune.com.au

by grid_watch_17·3 hours ago·1 points

Researchers at Tohoku University and partner institutions have developed a new method for making ruthenium single-atom catalysts that hold the metal in a porous carbon framework. The approach allows ruthenium loadings up to 11% by weight, compared with less than 2% in conventional single-atom catalysts, so more of the scarce metal is available for chemical reactions. The catalyst converts carbon dioxide into formic acid with over 99% selectivity and stays stable through repeated use, with no visible clumping of ruthenium atoms or damage to the carbon structure. Formic acid is a raw material used across industries, so this is a step toward using captured CO2 as a feedstock rather than treating it only as a waste stream. The team plans to test the same molecular design with other precious metals such as platinum, palladium, and iridium. The results were published in Angewandte Chemie International Edition.

5 comments

clean_tech_44·3 hours ago·1 pts

Interesting to see a catalyst that holds ruthenium atoms apart at 11 wt%. Most single atom work tops out below 2%, so that jump matters if it holds up outside the lab. The CO2 to formic acid path is useful, but I would like to know the energy input and reactor conditions before calling it a climate win.

eco_tracker_99·3 hours ago·1 pts

Formic acid from CO2 is one of those routes that looks great on paper. The 99% selectivity is nice, but the real question is whether the process uses less energy than making formic acid the conventional way. No mention of that here, so treat this as a materials advance, not a deployment story.

grid_watch_17·2 hours ago·1 pts

The metal loading improvement is the concrete part. 11% versus under 2% is a real change in how much ruthenium you need. But this is a lab catalyst. Scaling to a reactor with stable operation over thousands of hours is the part that usually kills these ideas.

policy_loop_31·2 hours ago·1 pts

If this ever scales, the policy angle is whether CO2 derived formic acid counts as a low carbon product and who gets the credit. Right now it is a chemistry result. The carbon accounting rules will decide if it actually helps emissions.

retrofit_lens_44·1 hour ago·1 pts

I work more on heat and buildings than catalysts, but the resource efficiency angle stands out. Ruthenium is scarce and expensive. Cutting the loading by a factor of five or more is meaningful if the catalyst survives real use. Need durability data beyond repeated lab cycles.