Climate change is a major challenge now and in the future. There is no doubt that carbon levels need to be significantly reduced, and creative solutions are key since CO2 is not very reactive. The FET-Open project DIACAT uses artificial diamonds to imitate natural photosynthesis with the aim to transform CO2 into chemicals for fuel, plastics or pharmaceuticals.

Eight partners from four European countries unite their high levels of expertise, know-how, and advanced technology in areas such as solid state physics, organic chemistry, computation and materials science for the efficient conversion of CO2 into “useful” compounds. So far, any such attempts required the use of materials which are harmful to the environment or to people or are scarce and expensive. Therefore, using man-made diamonds and light, in other words renewable energy and resources, would mean a major breakthrough in the area of sustainable production and growth. The environmentally friendly method of chemical production, that DIACAT seeks to develop would significantly contribute to the reduction of harmful greenhouse gases and help to decarbonize the energy sector. Read more details here...