Electrocatalysts impregnated with ionic liquids for electroreduction of carbon dioxide

• Grant number: 23/17801-8
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Post-Doctoral
• Start date: May 01, 2024
• End date: December 31, 2025
• 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 project addresses the transformation of carbon dioxide (CO2) into molecules of greater economic interest as a crucial response to the challenges of climate change. Zero-net CO2 emissions has become a priority, emphasizing electrochemical conversion technologies as a promising approach. These technologies use electrical energy to reduce CO2 to valuable products such as synthesis gas (carbon monoxide and hydrogen), which can be utilized in the production of synthetic fuels. However, to make electrochemical CO2 conversion feasible, achieving high current densities at low cell potentials is necessary. This requires both the development of new catalysts and the evaluation in electrochemical cells with low resistivity. In this project, previously prepared and characterized catalysts (Fe-N-C, Cu-N-C, Ag, and Pd supported on carbon) will be employed in gas-fed electrolyzer cells. Such cells will be constructed and adapted to accommodate a reference electrode, enabling the analysis of cathodic chemical reactions separately. In-situ studies using X-ray absorption spectroscopy and operating with a gas analyzer coupled to a mass spectrometer detector will allow the assessment of the potential range and the influence of the microenvironment on the formed products. The durability, selectivity, and energy efficiency of the overall process will be monitored using online gas chromatography. Modifications to the catalysts surface by different hydrophobic and highly soluble Ionic Liquids for CO2 will be evaluated in the same configurations, and their structure and chemical nature will be correlated with their activity/selectivity for product formation. (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)

PAGANIN, VALDECIR A.; SAKITA, ALAN M. P.; LOPES, THIAGO; TICIANELLI, EDSON A.; PEREZ, JOELMA. Uncovering Key Parameters in Perfluorosulfonic Acid (PFSA) Membrane Fuel Cells to Enhance Performance. MEMBRANES, v. 15, n. 3, p. 15-pg., 2025-02-20. (19/22183-6, 23/17801-8)

SAKITA, ALAN M. P.; TICIANELLI, EDSON A.. The role of cation exchange membrane characteristics in CO2 electrolysis to CO using acid anolyte. Electrochimica Acta, v. 509, p. 9-pg., 2025-01-01. (23/17801-8, 19/22183-6, 21/14163-5)