Structure and electrolyte sensitivity in CO2 electroreduction
Event details
| Date | 14.03.2019 |
| Hour | 15:00 › 16:00 |
| Speaker |
Prof. Beatriz ROLDAN CUENYA Department of Interface Science, Fritz-Haber-Institute of the Max Planck Society (FHI), Berlin, Germany |
| Location | |
| Category | Conferences - Seminars |
ChE-605 - Highlights in Energy Research seminar series
The utilization of fossil fuels as the main energy source gives rise to serious environmental issues, including global warming caused by the continuously increasing level of atmospheric CO2. The electrochemical conversion of CO2 (CO2RR) to chemicals and fuels driven by electricity derived from renewable energy has been recently recognized as a promising strategy towards sustainable energy.
In this talk I will provide examples of recent advances in the development of highly active nanostructured single crystal, thin film and nanoparticle (NP) electrocatalysts (Cu, Ag, Zn, and Cu-M with M = Co, Zn) and how their structure (crystal orientation, atomic arrangement, size, shape, defects), oxidation state and composition influence their selectivity in CO2RR. Additionally, the determining role of the electrolyte in the reaction activity and selectivity will be illustrated by adding cations and anions (Cs+, Li+, Na+, K+, I-, Br-, Cl-) to aqueous electrolytes. Finally, the importance of in situ and operando characterization methods (e.g. EC-AFM, XAS, XPS) to gain in depth understanding on the structure- and electrolyte-sensitivity of real CO2RR catalysts under working conditions will be demonstrated. Our results are expected to open up new routes for the reutilization of CO2 through its direct selective conversion into higher value products.
The utilization of fossil fuels as the main energy source gives rise to serious environmental issues, including global warming caused by the continuously increasing level of atmospheric CO2. The electrochemical conversion of CO2 (CO2RR) to chemicals and fuels driven by electricity derived from renewable energy has been recently recognized as a promising strategy towards sustainable energy.
In this talk I will provide examples of recent advances in the development of highly active nanostructured single crystal, thin film and nanoparticle (NP) electrocatalysts (Cu, Ag, Zn, and Cu-M with M = Co, Zn) and how their structure (crystal orientation, atomic arrangement, size, shape, defects), oxidation state and composition influence their selectivity in CO2RR. Additionally, the determining role of the electrolyte in the reaction activity and selectivity will be illustrated by adding cations and anions (Cs+, Li+, Na+, K+, I-, Br-, Cl-) to aqueous electrolytes. Finally, the importance of in situ and operando characterization methods (e.g. EC-AFM, XAS, XPS) to gain in depth understanding on the structure- and electrolyte-sensitivity of real CO2RR catalysts under working conditions will be demonstrated. Our results are expected to open up new routes for the reutilization of CO2 through its direct selective conversion into higher value products.
Practical information
- General public
- Free