Surface tailored electrodes for efficient and stable conversion of CO2 to formate/formic acid value-added product

气候变化被认为是我们时代最大的环境威胁之一。在过去的一个世纪里，大气中包括二氧化碳在内的温室气体浓度一直在稳步上升，并与地球温度的上升有关。人类活动每年在自然碳循环中产生超过3.9%的二氧化碳。二氧化碳排放量的这种增加并没有被二氧化碳固定所平衡，导致大气中的二氧化碳在过去200年里从大约270ppm增加到385ppm。 二氧化碳是一种丰富的可再生碳源，但需要投入大量能源才能将其转化为其他化学品。这可以通过以电力的形式提供物理能量来实现，而电化学还原二氧化碳(ERC)提供了几个优点。例如，过程由电极电位控制，电化学模块紧凑，易于放大。 与甲烷(约40000千瓦时/吨)等其他替代品相比，甲酸盐/甲酸需要的能量很少(约2500千瓦时/吨)，在环境再循环过程中可以形成各种化学品。此外，与甲烷(200-300美元/吨)相比，它的售价(1200美元/吨)要高得多。 在这个项目中，我们将与Mantra Energy(BC)合作，寻找具有高电催化活性(更高的电流密度、更低的过电位、更高的电流效率)和随时间推移具有稳定性的新电极材料，以努力改善ERC过程中二氧化碳转化为甲酸盐/甲酸的整体性能。新的电催化剂的开发与电极表面的原位分析相结合，以详细研究导致电极ERC和失活的机理。最后，8名HQP(1名研究干事、4名博士生和3名本科生)将参与该项目。

Climate change is considered to be one of the greatest environmental threats of our times. The atmospheric concentration of green house gases, including CO2, has increased steadily over the past century and is associated to the increase of the planetary temperature. Human activities produce an annual excess of 3.9% CO2 to the natural carbon cycle. This raise in CO2 emission, which is not balanced by CO2 fixation, has resulted in an increase of atmospheric CO2 during the last 200 years from approximately 270 ppm to 385 ppm. CO2 is an abundant and renewable carbon source, but a large input of energy is required to transform it into other chemicals. This can be achieved by supplying physical energy in the form of electricity, and the electrochemical reduction of CO2 (ERC) offers several advantages. For example, the process is controlled by the electrode potential and the electrochemical modules are compact and easy to scale-up. Among the various chemicals that can be formed during ERC, formate/formic acid require little energy (~ 2500 kWh/ton) compared to other alternatives like methane (~ 40000 kWh/ton). Also, it sells at a much higher price ($1,200/ton) compared to methane ($200-$300/ton). In this project, in partnership with Mantra Energy (Burnaby, BC), we will seek new electrode materials with high electrocatalytic activity (higher current density, lower overpotential, higher current efficiency) and stability over time in an effort to improve the overall performances of the ERC process for the conversion of CO2 to formate/formic acid. The development of new electrocatalysts is done in conjunction with in-situ analysis of the electrode surface for detailed studies of the mechanisms responsible for ERC and de-activation of electrodes. Finally, 8 HQPs (1 Research Officer, 4 PhD students and three undergraduate students) will be involved in this project.