Welcome, green chem!

A car that runs on carbon dioxide (CO₂) and emits oxygen sounds like an idea straight out of science fiction. Soumyajit Roy, though, believes in his dream vehicle. With his students, the chemist at the Indian Institute of Science Education and Research (IISER) Kolkata has taken the first steps: converting CO₂ into useful products such as biofuels and sustainable acids. And then he plans to rev up.

Roy is well aware of the toxic havoc wreaked by CO₂ and other greenhouse gases. Not surprisingly, he, along with other pioneering chemists, is exploring ways to convert harmful greenhouse gases into useful products and to develop reactions that eliminate the need for toxic metals and chemicals. Their bottom line is simple: chemistry must protect the environment, and thereby the planet. "My research [is] based on the principle that the planet is loaned to us," says Roy.

At IISER Kolkata, Roy began using electricity and light to turn CO₂ into useful, energy-rich chemicals such as formic acid. He explains that formic acid serves as a safe hydrogen carrier because splitting it releases hydrogen that can be used for fuelling. His team produced formic acid by splitting water to get hydride, which then reacted with CO₂.