Electrochemical conversion of CO2 into high added value products

The electrochemical reduction of CO₂ represents a promising alternative for obtaining a variety of useful products, with important applications in chemical industry or for power generation. For renewable energy sources, such as solar or wind power, to become sustainable alternatives to the fossil fuels, a viable technology for storage of generated electric power is required. Storage of electricity in chemical bonds, in form of high energy density fuels, would be a promising route for leveling the fluctuations between renewable energy generation and demand. Alcohols derived from CO2 reduction would be particularly attractive.  The efficiency of CO2 electroreduction as a means of producing chemical feedstocks such as methanol is contingent on the electrocatalyst used at the cathode.

However, finding an effective electrode for the activation and further reduction of CO₂ continues being a key challenge. In addition, the reaction mechanism of the process and the involved intermediates are not fully clear as most works analyze the electrolysis products after CO₂ reduction reaction, sampling the compounds in gas collectors or liquid solvents. In this research line special attention is payed to the mechanisms involved in the reaction in order to get a better comprehension of the process. With the main aim of generating knowledge, in situ techniques have been also used for the identification of the electrolysis products from CO₂ reduction

Relevant publications

Pérez-Rodríguez, N. Rillo, M.J. Lázaro, E. Pastor. Pd catalysts supported onto nanostructured carbon materials for CO₂ valorization by electrochemical reduction. Applied Catalysis B: Environmental, 163, 83-95, 2015.

Pérez-Rodríguez, F. Barreras, E. Pastor, M.J. Lázaro. Reactors for the electrochemical reduction of CO₂: from acid media to gas phase. International Journal of Hydrogen Energy 41, 19759-1976, 2016.

S. Pérez-Rodríguez, G. García, M.J. Lázaro, E. Pastor. Probing intermediates employing in-situ spectroscopy and spectrometry. Libro: Electrochemical Reduction of Carbon Dioxide: Overcoming the Limitations of Photosynthesis. David Fermin and Frank Marken (Eds.), Royal Society of Electrochemistry (Cambridge, UK). 2016