Issue 4, 2019

Bio-inspired design: bulk iron–nickel sulfide allows for efficient solvent-dependent CO2 reduction

Abstract

The electrocatalytic reduction of carbon dioxide (CO2RR) to valuable bulk chemicals is set to become a vital factor in the prevention of environmental pollution and the selective storage of sustainable energy. Inspired by structural analogues to the active site of the enzyme CODHNi, we envisioned that bulk Fe/Ni sulfides would enable the efficient reduction of CO2. By careful adjustment of the process conditions, we demonstrate that pentlandite (Fe4.5Ni4.5S8) electrodes, in addition to HER, also support the CO2RR reaching a peak faradaic efficiency of 87% and 13% for the formation of CO and methane, respectively at 3 mA cm−2. The choice of solvent, the presence of water/protons and CO2 solubility are identified as key-properties to adjust the balance between HER and CO2RR in favour of the latter. Such experiments can thus serve as model reactions to elucidate a potential catalyst within gas diffusion electrodes.

Graphical abstract: Bio-inspired design: bulk iron–nickel sulfide allows for efficient solvent-dependent CO2 reduction

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Edge Article
Submitted
10 Aug. 2018
Accepted
05 Nov. 2018
First published
06 Nov. 2018
This article is Open Access

All publication charges for this article have been paid for by the Royal Society of Chemistry
Creative Commons BY-NC license

Chem. Sci., 2019,10, 1075-1081

Bio-inspired design: bulk iron–nickel sulfide allows for efficient solvent-dependent CO2 reduction

S. Piontek, K. junge Puring, D. Siegmund, M. Smialkowski, I. Sinev, D. Tetzlaff, B. Roldan Cuenya and U. Apfel, Chem. Sci., 2019, 10, 1075 DOI: 10.1039/C8SC03555E

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