A Cornell-led research team has developed a method for extracting gold from electronics waste, then using the recovered precious metal as a catalyst for converting carbon dioxide (CO2), a greenhouse gas, to organic materials. The method could provide a sustainable use for some of the approximately 50 million tons of e-waste discarded each year, only 20% of which is recycled, according to Amin Zadehnazari, a postdoctoral researcher in the lab of聽Alireza Abbaspourrad, the Yongkeun Joh Associate Professor of Food Chemistry and Ingredient Technology in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences.
Zadehnazari synthesized a pair of vinyl-linked covalent organic frameworks (VCOFs) to remove gold ions and nanoparticles from circuit boards in discarded electronic devices. One of his VCOFs was shown to selectively capture 99.9% of the gold and very little of other metals, including nickel and copper, from the devices.
鈥淲e can then use the gold-loaded COFs to convert CO2 into useful chemicals,鈥� Zadehnazari said. 鈥淏y transforming 聽CO2 into value-added materials, we not only reduce waste disposal demands, we also provide both environmental and practical benefits. It鈥檚 kind of a win-win for the environment.鈥�