Carbon nanofibers are an incredibly exciting material. They’ve been around for a long time, but still aren’t common, partially because they’re difficult and expensive to make. Now, a team of engineers say it figured out a simple way to make them–by sucking carbon dioxide straight out of the atmosphere.
Source: The CO2 In Our Atmosphere Can Now Be Transformed Into Carbon Nanofibers
WASHINGTON, D.C.—A research team says it has discovered a method that absorbs atmospheric carbon dioxide and turns it into carbon nanofibers, which could help reduce carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere. Carbon nanofibers are cylindrical nanostructures with a range of promising potential applications in the buildings industry, as well as in energy, electronics and medicine. For the buildings industry, the process reportedly could eventually lead to carbon-negative structures. The conversion process, called STEP (Solar Thermal Electrochemical Process), is powered by sunlight, heat, and a small electrical component. A current is run between two electrodes in a crucible filled with molten lithium carbonate, and a few types of metal. The molten lithium carbonate absorbs CO2 from the air. The electrical current then separates the CO2 molecules through electrolysis. The research is published in the American Chemical Society’s journal Nano Letters.
