Light-Based Catalyst-Free Conversion of Ch4 and Co2
Posted24 days agoActive23 days ago
nature.comResearchstory
informativepositive
Debate
20/100
Energy IndependenceCatalysisGreenhouse Gas Reduction
Key topics
Energy Independence
Catalysis
Greenhouse Gas Reduction
Discussion Activity
Light discussionFirst comment
2m
Peak period
2
0-2h
Avg / period
1.5
Key moments
- 01Story posted
Dec 14, 2025 at 12:13 PM EST
24 days ago
Step 01 - 02First comment
Dec 14, 2025 at 12:15 PM EST
2m after posting
Step 02 - 03Peak activity
2 comments in 0-2h
Hottest window of the conversation
Step 03 - 04Latest activity
Dec 15, 2025 at 2:34 PM EST
23 days ago
Step 04
Generating AI Summary...
Analyzing up to 500 comments to identify key contributors and discussion patterns
ID: 46264699Type: storyLast synced: 12/14/2025, 5:15:24 PM
Want the full context?
Jump to the original sources
Read the primary article or dive into the live Hacker News thread when you're ready.
> A team of researchers from China discovered that high-energy photons with a wavelength of 185 nm generated by a specialized 28-W ultraviolet light source could directly break the strong chemical bonds in methane and carbon dioxide. This allowed them to transform the gases into chemicals such as water-gas (CO/H2) and ethane (C2H6) under ambient conditions and even in oxygen-free outer-space-like conditions.
From Gemini 3:
> The "28-W source" mentioned in that research is almost certainly a Low-Pressure Mercury Amalgam Lamp (which naturally emits at 185 nm and 254 nm) or a Xenon Excimer Lamp (172 nm). These gas-discharge lamps are currently 100x more efficient than any experimental 185 nm LED. [...] To generate a 185 nm photon, an LED needs a semiconductor bandgap of ~6.7 eV. [...] VUV reactor [...] VACNTs inside a glass tube filled with a noble gas (like Argon [126 nm] or Xenon [172 nm])