Ultrasound-driven triphasic contact-electro-catalytic CO₂ reduction to methanol

Abstract

Converting carbon dioxide (CO₂) into high-value fuels and chemicals via catalytic technologies has emerged as a leading strategy for achieving carbon cycling and mitigating the energy crisis. However, traditional electrocatalytic processes typically rely on external power sources and noble metal catalysts, posing challenges of high cost and large energy consumption. This work reports a novel contact-electrification-based catalytic strategy using polyimide (PI) aerogel, a nonmetallic catalyst, for the direct catalytic conversion of CO₂ and achieving an ultra-high methanol selectivity of 93.6%. The method leverages surface charges and a localized electric field generated by ultrasound-driven triboelectric material contact-separation, combined with CO₂-adsorbed imide functional group on PI aerogel, to realize efficient CO₂-to-methanol synthesis without external power or metal catalysts. Mechanistic studies reveal that PI aerogel exhibits excellent contactelectrification properties and imide functional group capable of adsorbing CO₂. As the core component of the contactelectrification catalytic layer, PI aerogel not only reduces reaction energy consumption but also forms a triphasic catalytic structure by connecting the gas-liquid phases, significantly enhancing reaction efficiency. This study provides a new paradigm for low-energy, green conversion of CO₂ to high-value chemicals.