New way to produce oxygen without plant photosynthesis discovered.
Researchers from the University of California, Davis, have discovered a new way to produce molecular oxygen from carbon dioxide without the need for plants.
Illustrative image. (Source: http://frenchtribune.com)
Researchers from the University of California, Davis, have discovered a new way to produce molecular oxygen from carbon dioxide without the need for plants.
This research could help scientists learn more about Earth's ancient atmosphere and how oxygen formed on planets that contained carbon dioxide.According to researchers, after affecting carbon dioxide molecules with certain wavelengths of light radiation, these molecules will be separated into carbon (C) and molecular oxygen (O2).
Previous studies on oxygen in carbon compounds have shown that carbon dioxide (CO2) will decompose into carbon monoxide (CO) and oxygen (O2).
According to these studies, this always happens, regardless of the wavelength of the incident light. To carry out this reaction, researchers had to use an energy source greater than 5 electron-volts (EV), but to separate it into C and O2, they needed twice as much energy, about 11.44 EV.
Theoretical chemists have been hypothesizing this for several years, but only now have they been able to provide an accurate figure.
According to Wayne State University chemist Arthur Suits, understanding the behavior of simple molecules like carbon dioxide (CO2) is quite challenging. Suits notes that scientists are still developing theories and conducting experiments.
They suggest that if exposed to strong light radiation in a vacuum, CO2 will split into C and O2 at a rate of 5%.
Professor Cheuk-Yiu Ng of the University of California said: “When you shine light with a long wavelength on CO2, it breaks down through many different channels. These channels are energetically independent, but at the energy levels we studied, about 5% of the excited CO2 molecules will split into C and O2.”
According to Sean Crowe, a biogeochemist at the University of British Columbia, more research is needed to understand the role of this new discovery in studying the Earth's early atmosphere.
According to VNA
