Magic in metal could help put excess carbon dioxide to good use

The chunk of metal sitting on the table looks like it should belong in a wizard’s pocket. It is shiny silver with shocks of pink and splashes of gold, its called bismuth, and it’s currently used to make products from shotgun pellets to cosmetics. Researchers have identified that bismuth’s repertoire as a different kind of magic metal that may be just what the doctor ordered for Planet Earth. They say it could help reduce the rising carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere and provide sustainable routes to making fuels. They have discovered an unusual property of bismuth which can be harnessed to help the environment as a catalyst or a chemical spark which converts carbon dioxide (CO2), a greenhouse gas into liquid fuels and industrial chemicals. Bismuth’s specialized capability is referred as “catalytic plasticity.”