Plasmonic catalysis for the solar-driven CO2 reduction

Our planet is at the edge of a cliff. Strategies to address global warming are urgent and must focus on reducing CO₂ levels. Turning CO₂ into a commodity starting material to prepare important products, such as fuels, will lead to the green transformation of the chemical industry. Although strategies to convert CO₂ exist, current catalytic industrial processes are very energy-intensive. If the energy required to drive these processes is harvested directly from sunlight, the possibility to replace current processes based on energy derived from fossil fuels by the direct use of sunlight as energy input could become a reality. We will target this important challenge by developing photocatalysts based on plasmonic effects that can harvest much more energy from sunlight compared to conventional state-of-the-art materials to drive the CO₂ reduction into important molecules under mild conditions. Our approach will bring solar-driven CO₂ reduction closer to reality.