Cleaner air thanks to TUL's scientists

Researchers from the Faculty of Process Engineering and Environmental Protection at Lodz University of Technology are developing a new generation of plasma-synthesized nanocatalysts that have the potential to reduce the concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.

Professor Jacek Tyczkowski, head of the Department of Molecular Engineering, TUL, conducts research on, among others, plasma-assisted methods of nanocatalyst fabrication that enable deposition of very thin films of materials several to several dozen nanometers' thick, with a carefully designed molecular structure.

- These thin films can be deposited on any material, e.g. very thin metal meshes. By changing the parameters of plasma generation, the molecular structure and nanostructure of the surface can be modified. We use electron microscopy, electron spectrophotometry and atomic force microscopy in our research - professor J. Tyczkowski explains. - So far, thanks to the use of the so-called cold plasma, we have succeeded in fabricating stable nanocatalysts that allow for the conversion of 70% carbon dioxide to methane.

The primary objective of the research carried out by the scientists from Lodz University of Technology is to control the increase in carbon dioxide concentration in the atmosphere by using it as a raw material in the production of useful compounds, e.g. methanol and methane.

Funding from the National Science Centre has also allowed the scientists to carry out studies on the acquisition of hydrogen fuel from water with plasma-synthesized nanocatalysts.