Green carbon science: fundamental aspects

Mingyuan He; Kun Zhang; Yejun Guan; Yuhan Sun; Buxing Han

doi:10.1093/nsr/nwad046

Green carbon science: fundamental aspects

Natl Sci Rev. 2023 Feb 24;10(9):nwad046. doi: 10.1093/nsr/nwad046. eCollection 2023 Sep.

Authors

Mingyuan He^{1

2

3}, Kun Zhang^{1

3}, Yejun Guan^{1

3}, Yuhan Sun^{4

5}, Buxing Han^{1

6

3}

Affiliations

¹ Shanghai Key Laboratory of Green Chemistry and Chemical Processes, School of Chemistry and Molecular Engineering, East China Normal University, Shanghai 200062, China.
² Research Institute of Petrochem Processing, SINOPEC, Beijing 100083, China.
³ Institute of Eco-Chongming, Shanghai 202162, China.
⁴ Low Carbon Energy Conversion Center, Shanghai Advanced Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai 201203, China.
⁵ Shanghai Low Carbon Technology Innovation Platform, Shanghai 210620, China.
⁶ Beijing National Laboratory for Molecular Sciences, Institute of Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100190, China.

Abstract

Carbon energy has contributed to the creation of human civilization, and it can be considered that the configuration of the carbon energy system is one of the important laws that govern the operation of everything in the universe. The core of the carbon energy system is the opposition and unity of two aspects: oxidation and reduction. The operation of oxidation and reduction is based on the ternary elemental system composed of the three elements of carbon, hydrogen and oxygen. Its operation produces numerous reactions and reaction products. Ancient Chinese philosophy helps us to understand in depth the essence of green carbon science, to explore its scientific basis, and to identify the related platforms for technology development.

Keywords: green carbon science; carbon cycle; carbon energy; carbon neutrality; redox chemistry.