Scientists at Oak Ridge National Laboratory try 2 strategies Scientists are looking at ways to slow climate warming caused largely by carbon dioxide emitted to the air. Burning fossil fuels for transportation, industrial production and generation of electricity is the primary source of this greenhouse gas. At Oak Ridge National Laboratory , Zili Wu , leader of the Surface Chemistry and Catalysis Group in the lab’s Chemical Sciences Division, and his colleagues have Department of Energy funding to study two strategies. Wu provided details about ORNL research in these areas during a recent talk to Friends of ORNL. Zili Wu speaks to Friends of Oak Ridge National Laboratory (FORNL). He is also the deputy director of one of the 11 Energy EarthShot Research Centers (EERCs) recently funded by DOE. The EERC at ORNL, which is headed by David Sholl, focuses on non-equilibrium energy transfer for efficient reactions, or NEETER. One approach is to turn captured carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions into useful, high-value chemicals and fuels, which is called “closing the carbon cycle.” A challenge is to design better catalysts to reduce the energy needed to drive chemical reactions and to increase the yields of desired products. Wu and his colleagues have been designing improved catalysts for use in speeding up chemical reactions and increasing their yields while lowering the need for energy. Think about climbing a mountain, he suggested. You can climb all the way to the top and then go down to your destination. Or a local guide, serving as a catalyst, can lead you along a secret route that requires less energy for you to get to where you want to go. One goal of Wu’s group is to find a more efficient way of reacting hydrogen with carbon dioxide to make an increased amount of methanol […]