YU Undergraduate Team Publishes SCIE Paper in a Leading Journal of Materials Chemistry

CaO–BiVO₄–rGO ternary composite boosts CO₂ methanation efficiency by 3.6 times

Eco-friendly and low-cost catalyst design contributes to carbon neutrality

[October 23, 2025]

<KIM Geun-hyeong, Department of Chemistry>

Yeungnam University (YU, President CHOI Oe-chool) announced that Kim Geun-hyeong, an undergraduate student in the Department of Chemistry, has published a research paper as the first author in the globally recognized materials chemistry journal, Journal of Materials Chemistry A (Impact Factor 9.5), on September 3. The paper, titled “Function-orchestrated CaO/BiVO₄/rGO interfaces for efficient CO₂ methanation via coupled charge separation and adsorptive activation,” presents the development of an eco-friendly catalytic system that converts carbon dioxide (CO₂) into methane (CH₄) using solar energy.

 The research team fabricated a self-assembled composite catalyst by combining calcium oxide (CaO), bismuth vanadate (BiVO₄), and reduced graphene oxide (rGO). Each material was functionally orchestrated to play a synergistic role: CaO efficiently captures CO₂ molecules, BiVO₄ absorbs visible light to drive photocatalytic reactions, and rGO facilitates rapid electron transfer, thereby accelerating reaction kinetics. This design significantly suppressed electron–hole recombination losses, achieving approximately 3.6 times higher methane yield compared to conventional BiVO₄ catalysts. The catalyst also demonstrated excellent stability across multiple reaction cycles.

Notably, the study identified a novel reaction pathway in which CO₂ is directly converted into methane without passing through intermediates such as formate or methanol. Moreover, by utilizing CaO derived from seashells and cost-effective graphene materials (rGO), the team succeeded in achieving high catalytic efficiency and durability without using noble metals, offering a new direction for sustainable and economical catalyst design.

KIM Geun-hyeong stated, “It is a great honor to have research I led as an undergraduate published in a world-class journal. I hope this achievement will contribute to advancing carbon recycling technologies using solar energy and hydrogen.”

Professor KANG Mi-suk, Kim’s academic advisor, added, “This study provides an important foundation for technologies that convert carbon dioxide into valuable fuels using solar energy, marking a meaningful step toward achieving carbon neutrality.”