Volume 2, 2024

Electrochemically decoupled reduction of CO2 to formate over a dispersed heterogeneous bismuth catalyst enabled via redox mediators

Abstract

Electrochemical CO2 reduction is a topic of major interest in contemporary research as an approach to use renewably-derived electricity to synthesise useful hydrocarbons from waste CO2. Various strategies have been developed to optimise this challenging reaction at electrode interfaces, but to-date, decoupled electrolysis has not been demonstrated for the reduction of CO2. Decoupled electrolysis aims to use electrochemically-derived charged redox mediators – electrical charge and potential vectors – to separate catalytic product formation from the electrode surface. Utilising an electrochemically generated highly reducing redox mediator; chromium propanediamine tetraacetate, we report the first successful application of decoupled electrolysis to electrochemical CO2 reduction. A study of metals and metal composites found formate to be the most accessible product, with bismuth metal giving the highest selectivity. Copper, tin, gold, nickel and molybdenum carbide heterogeneous catalysts were also investigated, in which cases H2 was found to be the major product, with minor yields of two-electron CO2 reduction products. Subsequent optimisation of the bismuth catalyst achieved a high formate selectivity of 85%. This method represents a radical new approach to CO2 electrolysis, which may be coupled directly with renewable energy storage technology and green electricity.

Graphical abstract: Electrochemically decoupled reduction of CO2 to formate over a dispersed heterogeneous bismuth catalyst enabled via redox mediators

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Article information

Article type
Paper
Submitted
13 nov 2023
Accepted
21 nov 2023
First published
28 nov 2023
This article is Open Access
Creative Commons BY license

EES. Catal., 2024,2, 379-388

Electrochemically decoupled reduction of CO2 to formate over a dispersed heterogeneous bismuth catalyst enabled via redox mediators

M. Potter, D. E. Smith, C. G. Armstrong and K. E. Toghill, EES. Catal., 2024, 2, 379 DOI: 10.1039/D3EY00271C

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