Development of electrocatalysts for the electroreduction of CO2 and photo-electrooxidation of water: investigation of the reaction products by on-line mass spectrometry

• Grant number: 14/26699-3
• Support type: Scholarships in Brazil - Post-Doctorate
• Effective date (Start): July 01, 2015
• Effective date (End): June 30, 2019
• Field of knowledge: Physical Sciences and Mathematics - Chemistry
• Cooperation agreement: Coordination of Improvement of Higher Education Personnel (CAPES)
• Principal Investigator: Fabio Henrique Barros de Lima
• Grantee: Mariana Romano Camilo Casale
• Home Institution: Instituto de Química de São Carlos (IQSC). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). São Carlos , SP, Brazil
• Associated research grant: 13/16930-7 - Electrocatalysis V: electrocatalytic processes of chemical and electrical energy interconversion, AP.TEM

Abstract

The increase of the world demand for energy and the depletion of fossil fuels in conjunction with the global warming crisis, has forced researches aiming at obtaining a new source of energy free of environmental damage, sustainable and with low cost. The development of electrochemical devices that mimic natural photosynthesis for the synthesis of high value-added products, the so-called artificial photosynthesis, is one of the most important subject of research nowdays. Thus, it becomes important to develop active and stable electrocatalysts for the CO2 electroreduction and for water photo-electro-oxidation. Considering this scenario, the main objective of this research project is the synthesis and activity analysis, stability and selectivity of nanostructured electrocatalysts, composed of Cu and ZnO for CO2 electro-reduction (electrocatalysis), in neutral medium, and based on WO3 for water photo-electro-oxidation (photo-electrocatalysis) in acid medium, using a sunlight simulator as an energy source. Also, it will be considered simple organic molecules photo-electro-oxidation such as formic acid and ethanol. The electrocatalyst will be synthesized in the laboratory and will be characterized by techniques involving hydrolysis, chemical reduction and thermal treatment. The electrochemical activity and selectivity will be studied by electrochemical techniques coupled with on-line DEMS (Differential Electrochemical Mass Spectrometry) experiments using a stagnant and flowing electrolyte configuration. The correlations between composition/structure of the nanoparticles with the distribution of the reaction products will be determined and discussed as the final aim of this project. (AU)

Scientific publications

(References retrieved automatically from Web of Science and SciELO through information on FAPESP grants and their corresponding numbers as mentioned in the publications by the authors)

DAMAS, GIANE B.; MIRANDA, CAETANO R.; SGARBI, RICARDO; PORTELA, JAMES M.; CAMILO, MARIANA R.; LIMA, FABIO H. B.; ARAUJO, C. MOYSES. On the Mechanism of Carbon Dioxide Reduction on Sn-Based Electrodes: Insights into the Role of Oxide Surfaces. CATALYSTS, v. 9, n. 8 AUG 2019. Web of Science Citations: 0.

CAMILO, MARIANA R.; SILVA, WANDERSON O.; LIMA, FABIO H. B. Investigation of Electrocatalysts for Selective Reduction of CO2 to CO: Monitoring the Reaction Products by on line Mass Spectrometry and Gas Chromatography. Journal of the Brazilian Chemical Society, v. 28, n. 9, p. 1803-1815, SEP 2017. Web of Science Citations: 4.

MARIANA R. CAMILO; WANDERSON O. SILVA; FABIO H. B. LIMA. Investigation of Electrocatalysts for Selective Reduction of CO2 to CO: Monitoring the Reaction Products by on line Mass Spectrometry and Gas Chromatography. Journal of the Brazilian Chemical Society, v. 28, n. 9, p. -, Set. 2017.