Enhanced performance of molecular electrocatalysts for CO<sub>2</sub> reduction in a flow cell following K<sup>+</sup> addition.
basic_science · Level V
Where this comes from
- Record sourced from PubMed, PMID 37939196.
- Also identified by DOI 10.1126/sciadv.adh9986 and PMC identifier 10631738.
- Licence recorded as CC BY.
- The licence permits redistribution, so the abstract is shown in full and the full text is available from the publisher.
Abstract
Electrocatalytic CO<sub>2</sub> reduction is a key aspect of artificial photosynthesis systems designed to produce fuels. Although some molecular catalysts have good performance for CO<sub>2</sub> reduction, these compounds also suffer from poor durability and energy efficiency. The present work demonstrates the improved CO<sub>2</sub> reduction activity exhibited by molecular catalysts in a flow cell. These catalysts were composed of a cobalt-tetrapyridino-porphyrazine complex supported on carbon black together with potassium salt and were both stable and efficient. These systems were found to promote electrocatalytic CO<sub>2</sub> reduction with a current density of 100 mA/cm<sup>2</sup> and generated CO over at least 1 week with a selectivity of approximately 95%. The optimal catalyst gave a turnover number of 3,800,000 and an energy conversion efficiency of more than 62% even at 200 mA/cm<sup>2</sup>.