[{"command":"openDialog","selector":"#drupal-modal","settings":null,"data":"\u003Cdiv id=\u0022republish_modal_form\u0022\u003E\u003Cform class=\u0022modal-form-example-modal-form ecl-form\u0022 data-drupal-selector=\u0022modal-form-example-modal-form\u0022 action=\u0022\/en\/article\/modal\/6322\u0022 method=\u0022post\u0022 id=\u0022modal-form-example-modal-form\u0022 accept-charset=\u0022UTF-8\u0022\u003E\u003Cp\u003EHorizon articles can be republished for free under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) licence.\u003C\/p\u003E\n \u003Cp\u003EYou must give appropriate credit. We ask you to do this by:\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n 1) Using the original journalist\u0027s byline\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n 2) Linking back to our original story\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n 3) Using the following text in the footer: This article was originally published in \u003Ca href=\u0027#\u0027\u003EHorizon, the EU Research and Innovation magazine\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\n \u003Cp\u003ESee our full republication guidelines \u003Ca href=\u0027\/horizon-magazine\/republish-our-stories\u0027\u003Ehere\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\n \u003Cp\u003EHTML for this article, including the attribution and page view counter, is below:\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\u0022js-form-item form-item js-form-type-textarea form-item-body-content js-form-item-body-content ecl-form-group ecl-form-group--text-area form-no-label ecl-u-mv-m\u0022\u003E\n \n\u003Cdiv\u003E\n \u003Ctextarea data-drupal-selector=\u0022edit-body-content\u0022 aria-describedby=\u0022edit-body-content--description\u0022 id=\u0022edit-body-content\u0022 name=\u0022body_content\u0022 rows=\u00225\u0022 cols=\u002260\u0022 class=\u0022form-textarea ecl-text-area\u0022\u003E\u003Ch2\u003EDiamonds could help slow climate change\u003C\/h2\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe technology being developed by the EU-funded DIACAT project could help reduce emissions from power stations by capturing the carbon currently emitted as CO2 and transforming it into chemicals such as hydrocarbons or methanol. These could then be used as a fuel, for example to power cars, or as ingredients for new chemicals.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u2018At the moment we use fossil fuels to produce chemicals or to fuel our cars or to heat our homes, and that produces as a side product CO2,\u2019 said Professor Anke Krueger from W\u00fcrzburg\u0026nbsp;University, Germany, who leads the project.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u2018The long-term aim is to transform CO2 from the atmosphere or from exhaust gases into something useful.\u2019\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe researchers use ultra-thin layers of synthetic diamonds which are placed in a solution. When a particular wavelength of light is shone onto the diamond, it emits electrons which travel to the surface of the diamond in the solution and react with the carbon dioxide, transforming it into another substance.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe process has been described as a type of photosynthesis as it mimics the way that plants transform light energy from the sun into chemical energy to grow.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u2018CO2 itself is very difficult to transform into something useful, it\u2019s not very reactive,\u2019 said Prof. Krueger. \u2018In the lab that normally requires quite expensive and not easily achievable technologies. You need a lot of energy, you need expensive and rare catalysts, and you need more aggressive, or much less environmentally friendly, solvents.\u003Cdiv class=\u0022tw-text-center tw-bg-bluelightest tw-p-12 tw-my-12 tw--mx-16\u0022\u003E\n \u003Ch3 class=\u0022tw-font-sans tw-font-bold tw-text-blue tw-uppercase tw-text-lg tw-mb-8\u0022\u003EThe Issue\u003C\/h3\u003E\n \u003Cspan class=\u0022tw-inline-block tw-w-1\/6 tw-h-1 tw-bg-blue tw-mb-8\u0022\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\n \u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/setis.ec.europa.eu\/publications\/setis-magazine\/carbon-capture-utilisation-and-storage\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022\u003ECarbon capture and utilisation (CCU)\u003C\/a\u003E for the production of fuels, chemicals and materials has emerged as a possible complementary alternative to\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/ec.europa.eu\/clima\/policies\/lowcarbon\/ccs\/index_en.htm\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022\u003ECarbon capture and storage\u003C\/a\u003E\u0026nbsp;(CCS). Low-carbon technologies will have a major role to play if the world is to meet the objectives set out in Paris last year during the COP21 climate talks.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ETemperatures are already an average of 1 degree Celsius higher than the pre-industrial era, and to keep rises under 1.5 degrees Celsius, significant reductions in CO2 emissions will have to be made. The EU has set itself\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/ec.europa.eu\/clima\/policies\/strategies\/index_en.htm\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022\u003Etargets for progressive reductions\u003C\/a\u003E\u0026nbsp;between now and 2050.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EIt means we need to advance and invent better technologies that can remove CO2 from industrial and power plants, and vehicle exhausts, within the next few years.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003C\/div\u003E\n\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u2018We want to do it pretty much like nature, so in water, using sunlight and on the surface of a material that can be easily made and is not harmful to the environment at all - and this is diamond.\u2019\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003ERough diamonds\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe researchers use industrially produced nanodiamonds and diamond membranes, which are created in labs by depositing methane vapour into layers within a cubic lattice to create the structure of a diamond.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EDiamonds are normally electrically insulating but, by doping them with boron, Prof. Krueger and the project team are turning them into semiconductors, which can then be used as electrodes within the solution.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe task for the researchers is to work out the best solution to use, as well as the ideal properties of the diamond and the optimal levels of CO2. This is being done by partners from across Europe, including the Fraunhofer Institute in Freiburg, Germany, CEA Saclay in France, University of Oxford, UK, Uppsala University in Sweden and the company IoLiTec.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ETheir work is being enhanced by a sophisticated technique which enables them to see the diamond emitting the electron in real-time. It was developed by Professor Emad Aziz from the Helmholtz Zentrum in Berlin and Freie Universit\u00e4t Berlin, Germany, who is a partner on the project.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u2018Any of these kind of catalytic materials, if you want to develop and optimise it for solar fuel, for reducing the CO2 or doing its function, we have to see the process in reality,\u2019 said Prof. Aziz. \u2018This is happening usually quite fast by a small particle called an electron, in femtosecond timescale (a quadrillionth of a second), and happening in a very small area, in a few angstrom (a ten-billionth of a metre).\u2019\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe DIACAT researchers are using Prof. Aziz\u2019s specially designed laser lab at the Helmholtz Zentrum to understand more about what happens at the diamond\u2019s surface and tweak the material accordingly.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe femtosecond laser lab was originally developed as part of a project called PORPHDYN, funded by the EU\u0027s European Research Council. It was originally designed to view the electronic behaviour of one specific type of material, porphyrins, and has since been expanded to other materials, including nanodiamonds.\u003Cblockquote class=\u0022tw-text-center tw-text-blue tw-font-bold tw-text-2xl lg:tw-w-1\/2 tw-border-2 tw-border-blue tw-p-12 tw-my-8 lg:tw-m-12 lg:tw--ml-16 tw-float-left\u0022\u003E\n \u003Cspan class=\u0022tw-text-5xl tw-rotate-180\u0022\u003E\u201c\u003C\/span\u003E\n \u003Cp class=\u0022tw-font-serif tw-italic\u0022\u003E\u2018The long-term aim is to transform CO2 from the atmosphere or from exhaust gases into something useful.\u2019\u003C\/p\u003E\n \u003Cfooter\u003E\n \u003Ccite class=\u0022tw-not-italic tw-font-normal tw-text-sm tw-text-black\u0022\u003EProfessor Anke Kr\u00fcger, W\u00fcrzburg University, Germany\u003C\/cite\u003E\n \u003C\/footer\u003E\n\u003C\/blockquote\u003E\n\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EOther fundamental knowledge for the DIACAT project was generated in the EU-funded MATCON and EQUIND projects.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EProf. Aziz says that if the DIACAT project works, nanodiamonds will become an attractive resource for solar fuel researchers. \u2018It\u2019s a big new book for studying and we will need to give it the time and the focus but I am quite optimistic.\u2019\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EVisible light\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ESo far, researchers have managed to use ultraviolet light to activate the diamond\u2019s ability to turn carbon dioxide into fuel, but they are now working on a device that can use visible light, such as the sun.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EProf. Krueger says they are also aiming to make the device operate at room temperature, or at as low a temperature as possible, in order to minimise the amount of energy that needs to be used in the process.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe researchers hope to have a demonstration device ready within three years, and then Prof. Krueger estimates it will be another 10 to 20 years before the technology will be available on a commercial scale.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EShe is optimistic. \u2018I cannot promise now what shape the technology will have but we will find a way to make it work.\u2019\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/textarea\u003E\n\u003C\/div\u003E\n\n \u003Cdiv id=\u0022edit-body-content--description\u0022 class=\u0022ecl-help-block description\u0022\u003E\n Please copy the above code and embed it onto your website to republish.\n \u003C\/div\u003E\n \u003C\/div\u003E\n\u003Cinput autocomplete=\u0022off\u0022 data-drupal-selector=\u0022form-r-laeoqbeisirmnonyqeyoivnhgx9ad6xb3l6yrh8-8\u0022 type=\u0022hidden\u0022 name=\u0022form_build_id\u0022 value=\u0022form-r_LAEoqbEISIrmnonyqEYOIvNHGX9ad6xb3L6yrH8-8\u0022 \/\u003E\n\u003Cinput data-drupal-selector=\u0022edit-modal-form-example-modal-form\u0022 type=\u0022hidden\u0022 name=\u0022form_id\u0022 value=\u0022modal_form_example_modal_form\u0022 \/\u003E\n\u003C\/form\u003E\n\u003C\/div\u003E","dialogOptions":{"width":"800","modal":true,"title":"Republish this content"}}]