sc0c04875_si_001.pdf (223.92 kB)
Download fileCathodic Disintegration as an Easily Scalable Method for the Production of Sn- and Pb-Based Catalysts for CO2 Reduction
journal contribution
posted on 2020-10-06, 08:29 authored by Davide Pavesi, Rim C. J. van de Poll, Julia L. Krasovic, Marta Figueiredo, Gert-Jan M. Gruter, Marc T. M. Koper, Klaas Jan P. SchoutenCO2 electroreduction to
formate powered by renewable
energy is an attractive strategy to recycle air-based carbon. At the
moment, the electrode materials showing high selectivity for formate
at high current density are post transition metals such as In, Sn,
Bi, and Pb. Scaling up the CO2 electroreduction technology
to industrial size requires, among other things, cheap and clean methods
to produce cathode materials in the form of particles to fabricate
the square meters of the electrode surface area needed for the industrial
electrolyzers. We show here that it is possible to easily produce
catalytic powders based on Sn and Pb via a process known as cathodic
disintegration, driving the reaction with electric power and avoiding
the use of organic solvents, stabilizers, and reducing agents. The
catalysts produced with this method are highly selective for the reduction
of CO2 to formate and show promise for use in industrial
electrolyzers. Moreover, the process of cathodic disintegration is
quick and clean, it has a high atom efficiency, it uses dilute aqueous
electrolytes as solvents, and it has the possibility to be driven
by renewable energy.