Carbon Cycle

In the grand narrative of tackling climate change, carbon cycle technologies are experiencing a paradigm shift from 'emission reductions' to 'negative carbon'. Cutting-edge research is no longer limited to traditional carbon capture and storage (CCS), but is moving towards more economically valuable carbon capture and utilization (CCU). Current scientific research focuses on the efficient conversion of carbon dioxide into high value-added hydrocarbons through electrocatalysis and photocatalysis. For example, breakthroughs have been made in the study of copper-based monoatomic catalysts. By precisely regulating the coordination environment on the surface of the catalyst, the scientists have significantly reduced the energy barrier of the carbon dioxide reduction reaction (CO2RR), and achieved a highly selective conversion from CO2 to multi-carbon products such as ethylene and ethanol. In addition, the efficiency of artificial photosynthesis systems is approaching the limit of natural photosynthesis. By simulating the Z-type mechanism of plant chloroplasts, researchers have developed a semi-artificial photosynthesis system that can operate stably in visible light, directly converting solar energy into chemical bond energy. At the same time, the combination of enzyme engineering and synthetic biology opens up new avenues for biological carbon sequestration, and microbial cell factories are being transformed into efficient "carbon sequestration machines" by reconfiguring the Calvin cycle or designing unnatural carbon sequestration pathways. These technologies not only reshaped the way carbon resources are used, but also laid a solid molecular foundation for the construction of a zero-carbon or even negative-carbon industrial system.