SOLAR2CHEM X SEAFUEL: Electrocatalytic reduction of carbon dioxide: from molecules to materials

#SOLAR2CHEM X SEAFUEL symposium focused on linking innovative solar technologies with H2 production.

Our first speaker is Prof. Alex Cowan from University of Liverpool. He will talk about electrocatalytic reduction of carbon dioxide.

Electrocatalytic carbon dioxide reduction provides a way to generate useful fuels and feedstocks from a waste stream. Historically there has been a strong focus on the use of metal electrodes for carbon dioxide reduction, often Au, Ag and Cu. These have achieved impressive selectivity’s and current densities but they tend to work only when the local pH is high. This gives rise to an issue – it is well understood that the reaction of carbon dioxide with hydroxide lowers the available carbon dioxide for conversion and can cause substantial purification costs.

Molecular electrocatalysts based on transition metal catalysts may in principle be tuned to control selectivity by modification of the ligand structure. This gives the possibility of developing catalysts that can operate in challenging environments, such as at low pH, conditions where conventional metal electrodes produce mainly hydrogen. Here I will describe the ongoing efforts by our group to study and utilise molecular electrocatalysts for carbon dioxide reduction, discussing the pathway of development from small molecules in solution to their application on gas diffusion electrodes in complete electrolysers. We will also briefly discuss ongoing efforts to develop improved water oxidation catalysts for use in these devices.