New electrocatalysts to produce ethanol more efficiently

In recent years, researchers worldwide have been exploring new methods of producing ethanol, a chemical compound that is extensively used in a variety of industrial settings. One way to produce this compound is via what is known as the carbon dioxide electroreduction reaction (CO2RR).

While this particular reaction has been found to enable the conversion of CO2 into ethanol, the Faradaic efficiency and current efficiency of the resulting ethanol is often far from optimal. The Faradaic efficiency is essentially the charge efficiency with which electrons are transferred, and utilized to synthesize the desired chemical product, ethanol in this case.

Researchers at University of Toronto have recently devised a strategy that enables a more efficient conversion of CO2 into ethanol via the suppression of deoxygenation in the CO2RR reaction. In their paper, published in Nature Energy, they propose the use of a specific class of catalysts that lead to the production of ethanol with a Faradaic efficiency of (52 ± 1)% and a cathodic energy efficiency of 31%.

Read more at Tech Xplore

Image Credit: University of Toronto

-jk-