Bringing the Electrocatalytic Conversion of CO2 to formic acid towards an industrial feasibility by unraveling the fundamental role of the supporting Material (BECO2Me)
November 2019 – October 2023
Lowering the atmospheric CO2 concentrations and reducing
anthropogenic CO2 emissions is one of the greatest scientific
challenges faced by the current generation. A possible strategy is to
use H2O and CO2 as renewable feedstock for the production of fuels
and chemicals. Simultaneously, excess electricity, generated by
renewable energy sources, can be utilized to drive these reactions. In
this PhD project, CO2 will be electrochemically converted to formic
acid. Currently, the electrochemical reduction of CO2 is not yet
industrially viable, mainly due to the robustness of the envisaged
technology. While a lot of research focusses on the selectivity, the
stability of the most commonly investigated electrocatalysts (i.e.
nanoparticles (NPs) consisting of two different metals or bimetallic
NPs) remains inadequate. Here, we propose to improve the stability
by combining state-of-the-art bimetallic electrocatalysts with (doped)
ordered mesoporous carbon (OMC) supporting materials. By
incorporating these electrocatalysts into the structure of (doped)
OMCs, the supporting material is able to significantly enhance the
stability by inhibiting the agglomeration and detachment of
nanoparticles. Furthermore, the effect of doping these carbon
materials with foreign elements (e.g. N, B, P) on the reaction
outcome will also be investigated. Finally, by characterizing both
electrocatalyst and support the impact of loading, configuration and
surface area will be unraveled.