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A redesigned low-cost catalyst shows unexpected durability while converting CO₂ into a useful energy carrier.
Researchers from Yale and the University of Missouri report that catalysts made with manganese can efficiently convert carbon dioxide into formate. Manganese is a common and low-cost metal, and formate is widely studied as a possible way to store and release hydrogen for future fuel-cell technologies.
The findings were published in the journal Chem. The study was led by Yale postdoctoral researcher Justin Wedal and University of Missouri graduate research assistant Kyler Virtue, with senior contributions from Yale professor Nilay Hazari and Missouri professor Wesley Bernskoetter.
Why Hydrogen Storage and Production Still Matter
Hydrogen fuel cells generate electricity by converting the chemical energy stored in hydrogen, similar in concept to how a battery operates. Despite their promise, one of the biggest obstacles to broader adoption is finding affordable and efficient methods to produce and store hydrogen at scale.
“Carbon dioxide utilization is a priority right now, as we look for renewable chemical feedstocks to replace feedstocks derived from fossil fuel,” said Hazari, the John Randolph Huffman Professor of Chemistry, and chair of chemistry, in Yale’s Faculty of Arts and Sciences (FAS).
Formic acid, which is the protonated form of formate, is already manufactured in large quantities for industrial uses such as food preservation, antibacterial treatments, and leather tanning. Scientists are also investigating it as a potential hydrogen source for fuel cells, provided it can be produced in a sustainable and practical way.
The Catalyst Problem: Cost, Stability, and Toxicity
Currently, industrial formate production involves the use of fossil fuels, and is thus not considered a sustainable option in the long-term. A more planet-friendly approach, researchers say, is to create formate from atmospheric carbon dioxide, essentially removing greenhouse gas and converting it into a useful product.
But to do this, a catalyst is required. And therein lies the challenge for researchers.
Many of the effective potential catalysts in development are based on precious metals, which are expensive, less abundant, and have high toxicity. On the other hand, metal catalysts that are more abundant, more sustainable, and less expensive have tended to be less effective since they decompose rapidly, which limits their ability to convert carbon dioxide into formate.
A Longer-Lived Manganese Design
Hazari’s team offers a new approach.
The researchers were able to extend the catalytic lifetime of manganese-based catalysts to such a degree that their effectiveness outpaced most of the precious metal catalysts. The key innovation, they said, was to stabilize the catalysts by adding another donor atom into the ligand design (ligands are atoms or molecules that bond with a metal atom and influence reactivity).
“I’m excited to see the ligand design pay off in such a meaningful way,” said Wedal.
The researchers also said their approach may be broadly applied to other catalytic transformations, beyond the conversion of carbon dioxide to formate.
Reference: “Improving productivity and stability for CO2 hydrogenation by using pincer-ligated Mn complexes with hemilabile ligands” by Justin C. Wedal, Kyler B. Virtue, Wesley H. Bernskoetter, Nilay Hazari, Brandon Q. Mercado and Nicole Piekut, 5 January 2026, Chem.
DOI: 10.1016/j.chempr.2025.102833
Yale’s Brandon Mercado and Nicole Piekut are co-authors of the study. Funding for the research came from the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Science.
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