Scientists have uncovered thousands of previously overlooked chemical reactions that could help improve the conversion of carbon dioxide (CO2) into valuable fuels and industrial chemicals. By combining machine learning with advanced computer simulations, researchers at the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) identified 9,389 individual reactions occurring on a copper catalyst, revealing unexpected chemical pathways that conventional models had missed.
The findings, published in Nature Communications, could help scientists develop more effective catalysts for transforming CO2 into useful products such as methanol. The research also uncovered a surprising way hydrogen can participate in these reactions, challenging established assumptions about how the process works.
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