Closing the carbon cycle to stop climate change

Reducing the CO2 levels in the Earth's atmosphere is key to stopping environmental degradation. CO2 conversion to methane (green fuel) using renewable hydrogen is considered as one of the best options for simultaneously resolving energy and environmental challenges. Unfortunately, this process needs an expensive metal or complex organometallics and often suffer from instability and poor selectivity towards methane. In this work, using the defect engineering approach, researchers develop defected nano-silica, which convert CO2 to methane at significant rates, scales, and stabilities.