Research Highlights

Two Dimensional MXenes Materials for Greenhouse Gas CO2 Conversion and Hydrogen Production Using Solar Energy

In United Arab Emirates (UAE), due to the rising consumption of fossil fuels in the transportation sector, electricity generation, and desalination process, excessive CO₂ is released into the atmosphere. On a per-capita basis, the UAE’s energy, water, and carbon footprints are amongst the highest in the world. The UAE launched a national Energy Strategy 2050 with a target to meet its goal of increasing clean energy sources in the total capacity by 50% while reducing the carbon footprint by 70 %. Thus, it is important to find efficient ways to recycle greenhouse gas CO₂ to reduce carbon footprint and to produce valuable chemicals and fuels with a less harmful effects on the environment. How the CO₂ concentration can be reduced in the atmosphere with the use of solar energy? Therefore, it is important to develop a technology that can effectively utilize CO₂ with solar energy to produce renew energy and fuels.

In view of above, Dr Muhammad Tahir’s research group at Chemical and Petroleum Engineering Department, United Arab Emirates University (UAEU) has developed a smart noble metal free 2D MXenes based functional materials that can effectively harvest solar energy which can convert CO₂ into valuable solar fuels at normal temperature. The 2D titanium carbide (Ti₃C₂) MXenes efficiency for CO₂ conversion was expressively high with surface functional groups concentrations and growth of Titania nanoparticles over the single/multilayer surface through a new synthesis strategy. In the continuity of MXenes development, research team reported a new 2D vanadium carbide (V₂C) MXenes with monolayer and multilayer structure which was very promising to break stable CO₂ compound under direct solar energy. Where are these new V₂C MXenes going to be utilized? To find the answer, research team further investigated photocatalytic water splitting to produce green hydrogen under solar energy. The newly developed materials are noble metal free, low cost and stable under harsh environment. The research team proposed this material as a new breakthrough to be utilized to scaleup photo-technology for CO₂ conversion and hydrogen production using solar energy.

Dr. Tahir has a strong record of influential research in the filed of functional materials, photocatalysis, solar energy conversion, greenhouse gas CO₂ utilization, water splitting, hydrogen production and wastewater treatment.

The overall aim of the research is to develop and promote solar energy-based technology over a wide range of technological innovations which can support UAE mission to reduce carbon footprint with aiming renewable energy strategy 2050 and knowledge-based economy.  One of the recent works is published in the Journal of CO2 Utilization in collaboration with researchers from University Technologi Malaysia.

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The more information about the innovation can be found at https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S2212982022003572