🧪 Copper makes CO2 sustainable, Frozen smoke, Moon reserves

Scientists have developed a method where copper atoms help turn planet-warming carbon dioxide gas (CO₂) into a sustainable fuel. By shining light on an activated material, the team succeeded in generating methanol — which can replace fossil fuels.

Significantly, the new method demonstrates how CO₂ can be cycled back into products that can then be reused. For more on the method, check out today's Must Read.

🔥Today’s job of the day as featured on jobs.interestingengineering.com:

> Senior Big Data Infrastructure Engineer
> Mainframe Systems Engineer

🎙 New podcast Voice of the Future: offline AI communication with Emmanuel Chaligné

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MUST READ

🧪 Scientists use copper to turn CO₂ into sustainable fuel

Carbon dioxide (CO₂) is a major cause of global warming. Yet, it can be transformed into useful products. Traditional methods rely on fossil fuel-derived hydrogen gas, but alternative approaches using sunlight (photoelectrocatalysis) and water (electrocatalysis) are crucial.

Now, researchers developed a method to enhance carbon nitride’s properties for converting CO₂ through photocatalysis. Using magnetron sputtering, they deposited atomic copper in a solventless process, allowing intimate contact between the semiconductor and metal atoms.

To their surprise, the addition of only 1 milligram (mg) of copper per 1 gram (g) of carbon nitride quadrupled this efficiency. Most importantly, the selectivity dramatically increases efficiency and shifting from harmful methane to valuable methanol production.

💨 ‘Frozen smoke’ sensors detect toxic air in our offices and homes

Formaldehyde is a common air pollutant found indoors. It comes from everyday items like wallpapers, pressed wood products, paints, and tobacco smoke. Breathing in high amounts of formaldehyde can cause respiratory issues, headaches. It also increases the risk of certain cancers.

Current indoor air quality sensors lack the sensitivity to detect formaldehyde at low levels — which is where this new research fits in.

The team used 3D printing techniques to develop sensors made from tin dioxide (SnO₂) aerogels. Aerogels are also known as ‘frozen smoke’ due to their see-through appearance. Thanks to the aerogels’ structure, the sensors could detect extremely low levels of formaldehyde.

🌒 Moon reserves? Astronomers call for ‘urgent action’ to protect the Moon

Astronomers are calling for urgent action to protect lunar sites. They argue that future human activity on the Moon could prevent crucial science from taking place. This will especially be the case if the profits of space corporations are put ahead of the goals of the global scientific community.

That’s because technologies used in future lunar colonies could interfere with the signals of scientific instruments planned for the Moon. The warning from scientists emphasized specific lunar sites essential for future astronomy, known as sites of extraordinary scientific importance (SESIS).

These spots are believed to offer optimal conditions for instruments designed to detect signals from distant celestial sources, potentially revealing insights into dark matter and dark energy and even aiding the search for extraterrestrial life.

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IE QUIZ: THE RESULTS

Hey there! Yesterday, we threw out a brain teaser on our socials: “How much water is in the bottle?

The answer is: 2/3

Ready for more brainy challenges? Gear up for future IE quizzes by following us on Instagram and Facebook! 

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