This material’s design helps keep useful charged particles apart while getting rid of the useless ones, which lets it turn benzene completely into CO₂ and water without leaving toxic leftovers.

The catalyst completely breaks down benzene gas into harmless CO2 and water, making it effective for air purification.

A special type of material made by combining two chemicals can break down dangerous benzene gas in the air when exposed to UV light, removing it at a measurable rate.

This material uses light very efficiently — for every photon of UV light it gets, it breaks down a small but measurable number of benzene molecules per gram of material.

When benzene is broken down by this material, scientists observed specific chemical steps along the way — like phenolate and acetate — showing how it turns into harmless CO₂ and water.

This new catalyst cleans benzene from air using UV light, processing 1.71 liters of air per minute, removing benzene at 21.9 micromoles per gram per hour, and using light efficiently with a quantum yield of 0.000608 molecules per photon per gram.