Electrocatalysts impregnated with ionic liquids for the electro-reduction of carbon dioxide

• Grant number: 21/14163-5
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Post-Doctoral
• Start date: February 01, 2022
• End date: January 31, 2024
• Field of knowledge: Physical Sciences and Mathematics - Chemistry - Physical-Chemistry
• Principal Investigator: Edson Antonio Ticianelli
• Grantee: Alan Massayuki Perdizio Sakita
• Host Institution: Instituto de Química de São Carlos (IQSC). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). São Carlos , SP, Brazil
• Associated research grant: 19/22183-6 - Electrocatalysis VI: fundamental and applied aspects of emerging and classical problems in electrochemical energy conversion, AP.TEM

Abstract

The growing concern with global warming has motivated the creation of new technologies to capture and reuse CO2, a greenhouse gas that has been progressively setting emission records year after year. Among the promising technologies to overcome this problem, the electrochemical reduction of carbon dioxide has drawn a lot of attention from the scientific community due to its versatility, which allows controlling the selectivity of products and the efficiency of the process with simple parameter modifications, e.g. electrocatalysts, voltage of the cell, etc. However, the limitation of mass transport is still a problem that restricts the efficient conversion of CO2 into higher value-added products. The use of ionic liquids has proven to be interesting in improving not only mass transport, as these compounds have greater solubility of CO2, but also because they can act as co-catalysts, facilitating the CO2 reduction reaction. Here, this project aims at the synthesis of catalysts supported on carbons (Cu, Ag, Pd, Fe-Nx) with high surface area and porosity with nanoconfined Ionic Liquids. The prepared materials will be properly characterized as to their morphology and structure, and studied as to their electrochemical behavior in KHCO3 solutions saturated with CO2. In addition, flow cells containing the previously studied electrocatalysts will be built and evaluated, which will be applied over gas diffusion electrodes, and bipolar membranes to form a membrane electrode assembly. This system will be evaluated regarding its operating voltage and products formed, and then correlate the properties of the catalysts and the nature of the ionic liquids used with the Faradaic and energy efficiency of the CO2 reduction process.

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)

DE ARAUJO, MOISES A.; KOVERGA, ANDREY A. A.; SAKITA, ALAN M. P.; OMETTO, FELIPE B. B.; DA TRINDADE, LETICIA G.; TICIANELLI, EDSON A. A.. M-N-C Materials for Electrochemical Reduction Reactions: Recent Strategies for Improving Electrocatalytic Activity and Stability. CHEMCATCHEM, v. 15, n. 11, p. 23-pg., 2023-05-08. (21/01268-3, 21/14163-5, 20/11947-2, 19/22183-6, 20/15230-5)