Catalysis and environment: the good, the bad and the ugly

Abstract

It has become increasingly clear that human-induced CO2 emissions are having potentially irreversible impact on the environment. In this presentation, I will share my views on the current state of the CO2 pollution problem and discuss potential mitigation strategies. I will focus on the solutions that involve catalysts and discuss how achievable these solutions are, and which of the solutions gives us the highest probability to make positive impact. Most of these solutions will require abundant and economically viable generation of renewable hydrogen. I will discuss our work on solar splitting of water to form hydrogen on hybrid semiconductor/electro-catalysts systems. I will also discuss our recent efforts aimed at pairing the CO2 capture with in-situ electrochemical reduction of the captured CO2 molecules.