RII Track-4: NSF: One-Stage Electrocatalytic CO2 Reduction by Using Captured (bi)Carbonate Ions as the Feedstock

这项拟议中的研究与我国向清洁能源和循环经济的重大转型相呼应。该项目计划通过创新的电催化技术，朝着实现可持续的CO2稳定和管理迈进。为了解决当前电催化CO2还原（eCO 2 R）反应装置的典型限制，其中必须使用能量消耗且在自然界中不可用的浓缩气态CO2作为原料，这项工作将通过利用捕获的碳酸氢盐形式的碳作为水性原料来推进eCO 2 R，这是用于环境CO2捕获的有效且地球丰富的介质。具体来说，研究团队的目标是将太空探索中捕获的二氧化碳转化为甲烷燃料，并将地球上捕获的二氧化碳转化为乙烯。如果成功，这将是二氧化碳捕获和稳定的关键进步，促进能源效率的分布式制造，这对地球和太空的可持续运营至关重要。虽然该项目将重点关注甲烷和乙烯的选择性生产，但所获得的知识将转化为各种CO2增值过程，一站式CO2回收和转化使该方法适用于一般的分布式制造。拟议的研究工作为PI和学生提供了一个肥沃的平台，代表了EPSCoR各州的中小型部门和机构，通过与国家主要研究中心的合作关系，激发研究兴趣并开发新的研究专业知识，最终为可持续地改善研究基础设施，倡导STEM教育，EPSCoR研究基础设施改善轨道4：EPSCoR研究员项目涉及大量的学习和探索。与加州理工学院NASA喷气推进实验室（JPL）的电化学研究、技术和工程小组合作，该研究培训中心围绕开发电催化技术，该技术通过1）由双极膜（BPM）产生的H+控制碱性（氢）碳酸盐电解质的酸化，在一个反应室中集成了CO2的回收和转化用于CO2回收和2）将原位产生的CO2选择性转化为甲烷或乙烯，以满足地球和太空的灵活需求。PI和学员将利用克莱姆森实验室在开发原子级精确纳米催化剂方面的专业知识，更重要的是，克莱姆森研究人员的目标是与JPL在电化学设备工程和优化方面开发新的研究能力，其中膜，流道，催化剂层和高转化率的整体电池配置必须协同工作，以充分利用开发的纳米催化剂。克莱姆森-喷气推进实验室合作计划对EPSCoR各州的研究和劳动力发展产生了持久的影响。通过与克莱姆森和南卡罗来纳州EPSCoR的STEM教育和多样性、公平和包容（DEI）计划合作，我们的团队旨在传播科学并点燃不同学生群体的研究热情。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

The proposed research echoes our nation’s grand transition to clean energy and circular economy. This project plans to make strides toward achieving sustainable CO2 valorization and management through innovative electrocatalytic technologies. To tackle the typical limitations of the current electrocatalytic CO2 reduction (eCO2R) reaction setup, where concentrated gaseous CO2 that is energy-consuming and not available in nature must be used as the feedstock, this work will advance the eCO2R by utilizing the captured carbon in (bi)carbonate form as the aqueous feedstock, which is an effective and earth-abundant media for environmental CO2 capture. Specifically, the research team aims to convert the captured CO2 in space exploration to methane fuel and convert the captured CO2 on Earth to ethylene. If successful, this will be a critical advancement for coupled CO2 capture and valorization, promoting energy-efficient distributed manufacturing essential for sustainable operations both on Earth and in space. While the project will focus on the selective production of methane and ethylene in this work, knowledge garnered will be translational to various CO2 valorization processes, and the one-stop CO2 recovery and conversion makes the approach adaptable to the distributed manufacturing in general. The proposed research work provides the PI and the students, representatively from small-to-medium size departments and institutions in the EPSCoR states, a fertile platform to ignite research interests and develop new research expertise through partnerships with the nation's premier research centers, ultimately paving the way for sustainably improving research infrastructure, advocating STEM education, and developing the STEM workforce for the EPSCoR states.The EPSCoR Research Infrastructure Improvement Track-4: EPSCoR Research Fellows project involves a significant extent of learning and exploration. In collaboration with the Electrochemical Research, Technology, and Engineering Group at the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) at the California Institute of Technology, this research training centers around developing electrocatalytic technology that integrates the recovery and conversion of CO2 in one reaction chamber through 1) controlled acidification of the alkaline (bi)carbonate electrolyte by the H+ generated from the bipolar membrane (BPM) for CO2 recovery and 2) selective conversion of the in-situ generated CO2 to methane or ethylene to meet flexible needs on Earth and in space. The PI and student trainee will leverage the Clemson lab’s expertise in developing atomically precise nanocatalysts, and, more importantly, the Clemson researchers aim to develop new research capacities with JPL in electrochemical device engineering and optimization, where the membrane, flow channels, catalyst layer, and overall cell configurations for high conversions must work synergistically to make the best use of the developed nanocatalysts. The Clemson-JPL partnership plans have a lasting impact on research and workforce development in the EPSCoR states. In collaboration with STEM education and diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives at Clemson and South Carolina EPSCoR, our team aims to disseminate the science and ignite the research passion in diverse groups of students.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.