A Breakthrough in Green Chemistry Published in Science: A Global Network including CNR Transforms CO₂ into a Clean Resource for Industry
Converting greenhouse gases into industrial resources is a key challenge in the ecological transition. A major achievement in this direction has been reached by an international consortium led by the University of Bayreuth (Germany), whose study was published on June 4, 2026, in the journal Science. The project benefited from a crucial scientific and infrastructural contribution from the Italian National Research Council (CNR), through a joint investigation involving the Institute of Chemistry of Organometallic Compounds (CNR-ICCOM) and the Institute for Chemical-Physical Processes (CNR-IPCF) in Pisa.
The team developed a new green chemistry methodology that uses CO₂ as a sustainable oxygen source for the oxidative cleavage of carbon–carbon double bonds, a key reaction for producing high-value molecules across numerous technological sectors. Unlike traditional methods, which rely on aggressive reagents and generate toxic waste, the new approach employs a heterogeneous photocatalyst based on iron supported on modified carbon nitride. Driven by light energy, the system activates CO₂ by distorting its structure, enabling the reaction under mild conditions. The method proved versatile, successfully converting 45 different chemical substrates into the corresponding ketones or carboxylic acids, while preserving functional groups that are typically vulnerable to strong oxidation.
This result stems from a broad multidisciplinary effort involving, in addition to the University of Bayreuth, international partners such as Politecnico di Milano, the CNR institutes in Pisa, the Leibniz Institute for Catalysis (Germany), the Jagiellonian University of Kraków (Poland), the SOLARIS Synchrotron Radiation Centre, Stockholm University (Sweden), and leading Chinese institutions including Taiyuan University of Science and Technology and the Lanzhou Institute of Chemical Physics (LICP) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences. Within this prestigious network, the spectroscopic, analytical, and computational expertise of CNR researchers in Pisa—among whom Susanna Monti and Giovanni Barcaro stand out—played a decisive role in understanding the reaction mechanism and validating the system’s effectiveness. Using advanced techniques such as in situ electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR), solid-state NMR spectroscopy, STEM microscopy, XPS/XRD analyses, and sophisticated quantum-mechanical simulations, the team demonstrated the high robustness and stability of the photocatalyst, which can be reused after repeated operational cycles.
The publication in Science highlights the value of international collaboration and the active, competitive role of Italy—through the CNR and the Politecnico di Milano—in developing enabling technologies for sustainability. Thanks to the work of researchers such as Monti and Barcaro, CO₂ is no longer merely a gaseous waste to be confined but becomes a strategic, clean resource, reshaping the paradigms of the circular economy and offering global industry a concrete zero-impact alternative.
Yuman Qin, Peng Ren, Jun Hu, Suman Pradhan, Thanh Huyen Vuong, Xiufang He, Lulu Alluhaibi, Nils Rockstroh, Susanna Monti, Giovanni Barcaro, Aleksander Jaworski, Piotr Kuśtrowski, Jabor Rabeah, Daniel Hohenberger, Sergey Bagnich, Anna Köhler, Josef Breu, Gianvito Vilé, Matthias Beller*, Shoubhik Das*. “Photocatalyzed oxidative cleavage of alkenes using CO2 as an oxygen donor”. Science 392, eaed6068 (2026). DOI:10.1126/science.aed6068