'Power of disorder' tames CF₄, a semiconductor greenhouse gas that can persist for 50,000 years
Among the gases used in semiconductor manufacturing, tetrafluoromethane (CF₄) is a greenhouse gas more than 6,000 times as potent as carbon dioxide.
Semiconductor manufacturing employs tetrafluoromethane (CF₄), a greenhouse gas with over 6,000 times the warming potential of carbon dioxide. KAIST researchers led by Professor Minkee Choi have developed a high-efficiency catalyst using the "power of disorder" to remove CF₄ while extending catalyst lifetime. By mixing aluminum, zinc, gallium, nickel, and cobalt atoms into an aluminate crystal, they created an entropy-stabilized structure resistant to phase changes and degradation.
This new catalyst (ESA) outperformed conventional alumina catalysts by 2.3 times in decomposing CF₄ and maintained 92% conversion after 150 hours at 800°C, compared to 48% for the conventional catalyst. The ESA also functions as an oxygen refill system, continuously replenishing oxygen from steam as it decomposes CF�4. This research provides the first experimental confirmation of a CF₄ decomposition process and introduces a new catalyst design strategy applicable to various semiconductor process gases.
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