Electrode Engineering for Carbon Dioxide Electroreduction to Fuels and Chemicals

点击翻译按钮获取中文摘要

The global community has recognized the importance and urgency of taking bold steps to prevent catastrophic climate change. Without action, the global average temperature will rise over 2 °C relative to pre-industrial levels, causing devastating effects on the environment and the global economy. Preventing these damages requires reducing over 80% of the total emissions of greenhouse relative to 1990 levels by 2050. Also, up to 1,000 Gigatons of carbon dioxide (CO2) needs to be captured and stored by 2100. Renewable energies, such as wind and solar, are widely distributed and, taken together, could exceed today's global electricity demand > 10,000-fold. However, the intrinsic intermittency of solar or wind resources limits their further deployment as replacements of fossil fuels. Electrochemical CO2 conversion (ECC) to fuels and chemicals addresses the CO2 emission and renewable energy storage problems simultaneously. Existing infrastructure can be leveraged to take advantage of these chemicals and fuels, and recycling CO2 results in a low- or zero-carbon fuel cycle. Currently, no commercial ECC system can produce chemicals and fuels because of the significant challenges in developing stable ECC systems. This research program seeks to advance ECC technology and bring it to practical application. We will tackle the most critical challenges of ECC technology that prevent its deployment at large scale: developing high-performance and stable gas diffusion electrodes (GDEs). The GDEs are the most crucial part of the ECC systems where CO2 reduction to desired products occurs. To achieve this goal, we will identify how the structure and composition of GDEs affect ECC performance. We will also investigate their failure mechanisms by designing and testing several accelerated stress testing protocols. We will characterize the electrode before, during, and after the reaction to identify physical and chemical changes of the GDEs. From these insights, we will develop stable and efficient GDEs using various synthesis tools and fabrication techniques. This research will advance ECC technology, which has the potential to revolutionize CO2 capture and utilization, commodity chemical manufacture, and renewable energy storage. Fundamental insight into the physical and chemical changes of the GDE under ECC conditions will guide the rational design of efficient GDEs for other gas-phase reactions in renewable chemicals production and energy storage. Advancing ECC technology will position Canada as the leader in CO2 capture and utilization, which is expected to be a $4 trillion market by 2050. Throughout the proposed program, we will train a total of 11 HQP at the forefront of clean technology. These HQP will be ready to add to Canada's cleantech economy and help Canada to compete in international markets as we move toward a cleaner and more sustainable future.