Feature
Powering Chemistry with Light
Photon-driven reactions could offer a lower-energy alternative to some heat-intensive chemical processes, but scaling them from the lab to industry remains a formidable challenge.
Chemical reactions irradiated with light. [J. Cline / Colorado State University Photography]
The chemical sector is the largest industrial energy consumer and the third-largest source of industrial direct CO2 emissions, according to the International Energy Agency (IEA). That makes decarbonization of chemical processes a critical step toward achieving net-zero goals by 2050. One emerging solution—the use of light, rather than heat, to power chemical reactions—is garnering significant attention as a highly promising technological innovation in the field of green chemistry.
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