SK Inno Develops Catalytic Technology to Convert CO2, a Major Greenhouse Gas, into CO

SK Inno Tech Center, Independent Research
Development of Electrochemical Catalyst Technology for CO2 to CO Conversion

Cover photo published in the online journal 'Applied Catalysis B: Environmental'. Photo by SK Innovation

[Asia Economy Reporter Jeong Dong-hoon] SK Innovation's Environmental Science and Technology Institute announced on the 22nd that it has developed an electrochemical catalytic technology capable of converting carbon dioxide into carbon monoxide through independent research, laying the groundwork for commercialization.

This research achievement was published online on the 18th in 'Applied Catalysis B: Environmental,' a top-tier academic journal in the environmental field.

Electrochemical conversion technology uses electricity to transform greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide into useful carbon compounds like carbon monoxide. It is gaining attention as a means to reduce greenhouse gases. Carbon monoxide is a raw material necessary for producing various chemical products including acetic acid and plastics, as well as alternative fuels such as synthetic fuel oil and methanol.

In the industry, many studies are underway to replace precious metal catalysts like gold and silver, which show high activity in electrochemical conversion of carbon dioxide, with cheaper metals such as iron and nickel, and to improve performance by controlling them at the atomic level.

While conventional catalysts consist of clusters of hundreds of atoms, the latest catalytic technology involves single-atom catalysts made by isolating atoms one by one to enhance activity. The core of this research is that SK Innovation's Environmental Science and Technology Institute research team achieved greater performance improvement by using bimetallic catalysts made by attaching two different atoms one by one.

The research team developed a catalytic technology that reduces the energy used for carbon dioxide decomposition and simultaneously converts more than 98% into carbon monoxide by manufacturing catalysts in the form of nickel and manganese atoms attached one by one, inspired by the synergistic effect on catalytic activity. This is among the highest results reported in papers to date.

SK Innovation aims to contribute to carbon neutrality not only by securing next-generation catalyst development capabilities but also by expanding the scale of electrochemical reactors through collaboration with external specialized institutions and additionally securing mass-production technologies.

Lee Seong-jun, head of the Environmental Science and Technology Institute, said, "This research achievement is an example of applying catalytic capabilities accumulated over decades of energy and chemical research and development to carbon reduction technology development," adding, "We will deepen and apply SK's core research and development capabilities in catalysts, processes, and synthesis to develop carbon neutrality technologies."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.