To simultaneously address the need for synthetic, carbon based molecules and to offset rising carbon dioxide (CO2) concentrations in the atmosphere, the electrochemical reduction of carbon dioxide is an attractive idea. CO2 is a naturally abundant, inexpensive, non-flammable, and non-toxic C1 feedstock. Electrochemistry provides a convenient method to carry out the reduction of CO2 due to its high achievable conversion efficiency. Silver is a promising electrocatalyst due to its capability of reducing CO2 to CO selectively; however, the traditional polycrystalline silver electrocatalyst requires a large overpotential. To address this limitations we report efforts to carry out the reduction of CO2 in mixtures of imidazolium based room temperature ionic liquid (RTIL) in water as functions IL:H2O solution ratio and solution pH. Optimization of these solution conditions will allow reduced overpotentials to reduce CO2, suppression of the competing hydrogen evolution reaction, increase the diffusion of dissolved carbon dioxide, and overall increased current efficiencies. The varying concentration and source of protons will be discussed in the context of results obtained by carrying out the CO2 reduction at various pH values.

Water and proton concentration affects the electrocatalytic conversion of carbon dioxide in ionic liquids

255th National Meeting (2018)

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