Renewable carbon-based fuels and feedstocks from solar electricity + CO2

该研究项目旨在推动电力驱动的二氧化碳转化为碳基燃料和原料。我们将开发可再生合成化学物质的系统，如乙烯——目前依赖化石燃料的工艺。我们将开发物理模型，以增强我们对这些过程的理解，从而有助于合理设计用于合成复杂目标产品的新材料。该项目开发的技术将有助于将二氧化碳转化为有价值的化学物质的可再生来源。******总的来说，减少二氧化碳净排放的全球目标需要采取综合办法：改进节约、提高能源效率和新技术，这些新技术不仅要减少目前的二氧化碳排放速度，而且要有可能实现净负排放过程。我们的工作旨在利用可再生电力将二氧化碳转化为有价值的产品。这可以提供一种碳负的方法来合成今天传统上来自化石燃料的产品。******一种二氧化碳转换系统包括阳极、阴极和含有二氧化碳的电解质溶液。阳极反应由水生成O2，并为阴极反应提供电子和质子；这被称为析氧反应（OER）。在阴极，CO2在CO2还原反应（CO2RR）中转化为目标产物。我们的项目将专注于OER和CO2RR新材料和系统的设计、合成和理解。我们采用多学科方法，将计算建模与实验合成和表征相结合，开发用于储能的OER和CO2RR材料的详细模型。******通过使用可再生电力合成碳基燃料，我们的工作解决了太阳能和风能等间歇性电力来源面临的季节性能源储存问题。为制造业生产可再生的碳基原料将有助于加速我们向可持续经济的过渡。

This research program seeks to advance the electricity-driven conversion of CO2 into carbon-based fuels and feedstocks. We will develop systems that renewably synthesize chemicals, such as ethylene - processes that today rely on fossil fuel sources. We will develop physical models that enhance our understanding of these processes, contributing thereby to enabling rational design of new materials for the synthesis of complex target products. The technology developed by this program will help to enable the transformation of CO2 into a renewable source of valuable chemicals.******Overall, the global goal of reduction net CO2 emissions requires a combination approach: improved conservation, energy efficiency, and new technologies that not only curtail the current rate of carbon dioxide emissions, but that have the potential for net-negative emission processes. Our work seeks to contribute to the conversion of CO2 to valuable products using renewable electricity. This can offer a carbon-negative method of synthesizing products that today are conventionally derived from fossil fuels.******A CO2 conversion system includes an anode, a cathode, and an electrolyte solution containing CO2. The anodic reaction forms O2 from water and provides electrons and protons for the cathodic reaction; this is known as the oxygen evolution reaction (OER). At the cathode, CO2 is converted to the target product in the CO2 reduction reaction (CO2RR). Our program will focus on the design, synthesis, and understanding of new materials and systems for both OER and CO2RR. We take a multidisciplinary approach combining computational modeling with experimental synthesis and characterization to develop detailed models of both OER and CO2RR materials for energy storage.******By enabling the synthesis of carbon based fuels using renewable electricity, our work addresses the problem of seasonal energy storage faced by intermittent electricity sources such as solar and wind. Generation of renewable, carbon-based feedstocks for manufacturing will help accelerate our transition to a sustainable economy.