Engineering Catalyst–Electrolyte Microenvironments to Optimize the Activity and Selectivity for the Electrochemical Reduction of CO2 on Cu and Ag

Bui, Justin C.; Kim, Chanyeon; King, Alex J.; Romiluyi, Oyinkansola; Kusoglu, Ahmet; Weber, Adam Z.; Bell, Alexis T.

doi:10.1021/acs.accounts.1c00650

Title: Engineering Catalyst–Electrolyte Microenvironments to Optimize the Activity and Selectivity for the Electrochemical Reduction of CO₂ on Cu and Ag

Journal Article · 31 January 2022 · Accounts of Chemical Research

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.accounts.1c00650 · OSTI ID:1877098

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^[1]; King, Alex J. ^[1]; Romiluyi, Oyinkansola ^[1];

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University of California, Berkeley, CA (United States); Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States)
Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States)

We report the electrochemical reduction of carbon dioxide (CO₂R) driven by renewably generated electricity (e.g., solar and wind) offers a promising means for reusing the CO₂ released during the production of cement, steel, and aluminum as well as the production of ammonia and methanol. If CO₂ could be removed from the atmosphere at acceptable costs (i.e., <$100/t of CO₂), then CO₂R could be used to produce carbon-containing chemicals and fuels in a fully sustainable manner. Economic considerations dictate that CO₂R current densities must be in the range of 0.1 to 1 A/cm² and selectivity toward the targeted product must be high in order to minimize separation costs. Industrially relevant operating conditions can be achieved by using gas diffusion electrodes (GDEs) to maximize the transport of species to and from the cathode and combining such electrodes with a solid-electrolyte membrane by eliminating the ohmic losses associated with liquid electrolytes. Additionally, high product selectivity can be attained by careful tuning of the microenvironment near the catalyst surface (e.g., the pH, the concentrations of CO₂ and H₂O, and the identities of the cations in the double layer adjacent to the catalyst surface).

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Research Organization:: Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States)

Sponsoring Organization:: National Defense Science and Engineering Graduate Fellowship; National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF); National Science Foundation; USDOE Office of Science (SC), Basic Energy Sciences (BES)

Grant/Contract Number:: AC02-05CH11231; SC0021266

OSTI ID:: 1877098

Journal Information:: Accounts of Chemical Research, Journal Name: Accounts of Chemical Research Journal Issue: 4 Vol. 55; ISSN 0001-4842

Publisher:: American Chemical Society (ACS)Copyright Statement

Country of Publication:: United States

Language:: English

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