Electroreduction of Carbon Dioxide to Sustainable Fuels

Using excess electrical energy produced by intermittent renewable sources, such as wind and solar power, carbon dioxide can be reduced electrochemically to produce energy dense products. These products include ethanol, ethylene and methane and are useful in many other scientific processes. Previous work has demonstrated copper-based catalysts are most efficient and selective towards useful products in an aqueous environment. This project is a mixture of design and synthesis of a copper-based catalyst for electroreduction of carbon dioxide. Electrochemical measurements will be used to calculate the efficiency of the catalyst and analytical techniques such as GC and NMR will be used to detect the products. The catalysts will also be tested in a specialised electrochemical set up which utilises a low catalyst loading and conditions of accelerated mass transport.