Schematic illustration of copper phthalocyanine supported on carbon (a) and catalytic performance for CO₂-to-CH₄ conversion (b), showing the maximum current density and maximum Faradaic efficiency. Credit: Hiroshi Yabu et al.
A common blue pigment could help turn carbon dioxide (CO₂) from an industrial waste product into a useful fuel. A joint research team led by Tohoku University's Advanced Institute for Materials Research (WPI-AIMR), in collaboration with Hokkaido University and startup AZUL Energy, has developed a catalyst that converts CO₂ directly into methane (CH₄) with high efficiency using copper phthalocyanine, an inexpensive and readily available blue pigment.
The details are published in the journal Small.
Strong methane output and stability
The researchers applied the copper phthalocyanine catalyst to a gas diffusion electrode, enabling CO₂ to be reduced to methane in a single electrochemical step. The system achieved a maximum current density of 575 mA cm⁻² and a maximum Faradaic efficiency of 79.5% for methane production, demonstrating that the catalyst can selectively convert CO₂ into methane at high rates.
