ChemSusChem 23/2020
"Enhancing Molecular Electrocatalysis of CO2 Reduction with Pressure-Tunable CO2-Expanded Electrolytes"
Featuring Bala Subramaniam and Kevin Leonard and their research collaborators David Sconyers, Charles Shaughnessy, Hyun-Jin Lee, and James Blakemore
Abstract
The Cover Feature shows the concept of electrochemical conversion of carbon dioxide (CO2) into more useful chemicals powered by renewable energy. In this article, CO2-Expanded Electrolytes (CXEs) are used to enhance the rate of CO2-to-CO conversion by a workhorse molecular electrocatalyst, Re(CO)3(bpy)Cl (where bpy is 2,2′-bipyridyl) by up to a factor of five compared to the rate attainable at near-ambient pressures. CXEs enable multimolar CO2 concentrations to be achieved at relatively mild CO2 headspace pressures over acetonitrile-based solutions containing sufficient supporting electrolyte for electrochemical work. With CXEs, the full mixed-order kinetic profile of the Re(CO)3 catalyst has been measured for the first time, showing that the intrinsic kinetic behavior of the catalyst is competitive with those of several fast enzymes under optimal conditions in CXEs.
More information can be found in the Full Paper by D. J. Sconyers et al.
Citation
Sconyers, D. J.; Shaughnessy, C. I.; Lee, H.-J.; Subramaniam, B.; Leonard, K. C.; Blakemore, J. D. "Enhancing Molecular Electrocatalysis of CO2 Reduction with Pressure-Tunable CO2-Expanded Electrolytes." ChemSusChem, 2020, (13)23, 6338-6345