<br/><br/>Electrochemical reduction of CO2 to fuels is a well-investigated solution to the current global warming crisis. An important approach recently has been the heterogenization of molecular catalysts through electrode fabrication procedures. Specifically, graphitic materials like multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNT) have been shown to be an excellent support for electrocatalysts due to their high surface area and high conductivity. Typically, researchers have fabricated electrodes using a solution of MWCNT, Nafion, and an electrocatalyst.<br/>Nafion is a synthetic polymer with ionic properties and is widely used as a binder. However, it is electrically insulating and adds resistance to the system. To solve this, we propose a new fabrication method that uses a highly electrically conducting and ion-conducting polymer as a binder. PEDOT:PSS (poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene: sodium polystyrene sulfonate) is a well-studied polymer combination. The polythiophene provides high electrical conductivity, while the polystyrene sulfonate allows for the polymers to be soluble in an aqueous environment in addition to allowing for high ion transport. By comparing the material properties of Nafion and PEDOT:PSS, it is evident that PEDOT:PSS will be a better binder for these electrode fabrication schemes.<br/>Preliminary data collection and analysis shows that PEDOT:PSS has a lower impedance and elucidates that the fabrication method involving this polymer would improve the graphitic electrode system for CO2 reduction and be a better alternative to Nafion. We have collected data that proves this using metrics of Faradaic Efficiency for CO and current density. We are currently working on comparing electrodes made with Nafion, PEDOT:PSS, or no binder against each other. This will be done using metrics of electrochemical area, percent of electroactive catalyst, impedance, and Faradaic efficiency for CO2 reduction.

Studying the effects of ionomers in a hybrid electrocatalyst graphitic electrode system for highly efficient CO2 reduction in an aqueous environment

ACS Spring 2022

The official archive and repository for all ACS Meetings & Expositions abstracts and select posters or presentations.