Electrochemical reduction of CO2 is a complex process that is thermodynamically accessible but kinetically impeded. Currently, CO2 reduction reaction has been studied extensively in aqueous, organic, and ionic liquid electrolytes. In the vast majority of these systems, CO2 exists as a solute or as a gas. Although a great deal remains to be learned in such systems, mainly when assessed against their potential present and future scientific impact, we focus here on electrolytes in which CO2 is in a supercritical state and acts as a solvent rather than a solute or a gas. The underlying motivation is that the high concentrations (~17 M) and high mass transfer rates offered by sc-CO2 could substantially improve turnover numbers and enable product generation at rates necessary to match the capacity of current and future renewable energy installations. This talk will highlight our results on the effect of electrolyte on selectivity and durability of Cu and Ag catalyst towards CO2 reduction reaction when operated in the supercritical CO2 environment.

Unraveling CO2 reduction reaction in a supercritical environment

ACS Spring Meeting 2021

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