Making oxygen for space travel

Abstract

Working with JPL, Bryan Hunter, Emmanuelle Despagnet-Ayoub, Brendon McNicholas, Jill Clinton, Mamadou Diallo, Tom Sheridan, and Brian Sanders are exploring ways to electrocatalytically make oxygen from carbon dioxide at relatively low temps. We have shown that water is a co-product of Mn (or Re) catalyzed substrate redn. to carbon monoxide. Oxidn. of water liberates oxygen, as well as the protons and electrons required for sustained catalysis. We also are making robust metal-carbide and metal-oxide nanoscale materials by pulsed-laser plasma synthesis with the goal of improving the performance of our catalytic cathodes and anodes. We would like to have the inorg. chem. in place to make it possible (when needed for space missions) to convert some fraction of carbon dioxide in the Mars atm. to oxygen.