Electrochemical Reduction of CO2 to Chemicals
13 Aug 2024
02.00 PM - 03.00 PM
ABN Seminar Room 1-1 (ABN-01A-CF2)
Alumni, Current Students
NTU MSE Seminar Hosted by Professor Jason Xu Zhichuan
Abstract
Carbon dioxide (CO2) is a major greenhouse gas which is driving the climate change. CO2 capture at the emission sources and from air followed by conversion to fuels/chemicals can achieve carbon neutral energy cycle. Electrochemical CO2 reduction (eCO2R) is one of the most promising methods for the direct production of fuels and chemicals from waste CO2 and water. eCO2R on copper electrodes favours the production of multi-carbon products including hydrocarbons and oxygenates. The nanostructure engineering and alloying to create a variety of interfaces is a potential route for producing materials with higher catalytic activity and selectivity. Gas diffusion electrode further improved mass transfer of CO2 to reaction interface resulted in enhanced selectivity for carbonaceous products. High alkalinity with OH groups around catalyst surface improved the reaction kinetics and moreover stabilize the catalyst surface oxygen during the reduction process. Stability of GDE was improved by tuning hydrophobicity of catalyst and gas diffusion layers. Multi-carbon products, C2 and C3, were synthesised with bi-metallic Cu-Ag prepared by electrochemical spontaneous deposition of Ag on Cu2O nanoparticles. From the density functional theory (DFT) analysis, Ag promotes Cu atoms migration towards the surface of the electrode, which seems to adsorb generated CO for the further reduction process to produce higher carbonaceous products. Electrochemical reduction of CO2 to chemicals is a promising technology for Sustainability and Circular Economy.
Biography
Professor Eileen Yu
Professor Eileen Yu holds a Chair of Electrochemical Engineering in the Department of Chemical Engineering, Loughborough University. She has a wide range of experience with electrochemical and bioelectrochemical systems and attracted more than £20m funding from various funding organisations. After obtained her PhD from Newcastle University pioneering on the development of direct methanol alkaline fuel cells, she worked as a research fellow at Max Planck Institute for Dynamics of Complex Technical Systems before returned to Newcastle University to take a prestigious EPSRC Research Fellowship (Life Science Interface). She broadened her research into bio-electrochemical systems (BES) investigating the interaction and interface between enzymes, microorganisms and electrode, and electrode materials. She expanded and led new applications for BES from wastewater treatment to resource recovery and carbon dioxide recycling and utilisation for Net zero target. She was an initiator for UKRI Circular Chemical Centre.
Professor Eileen Yu
Loughborough University, United Kingdom
Professor Eileen Yu holds a Chair of Electrochemical Engineering in the Department of Chemical Engineering, Loughborough University. She has a wide range of experience with electrochemical and bioelectrochemical systems and attracted more than £20m funding from various funding organisations. After obtained her PhD from Newcastle University pioneering on the development of direct methanol alkaline fuel cells, she worked as a research fellow at Max Planck Institute for Dynamics of Complex Technical Systems before returned to Newcastle University to take a prestigious EPSRC Research Fellowship (Life Science Interface). She broadened her research into bio-electrochemical systems (BES) investigating the interaction and interface between enzymes, microorganisms and electrode, and electrode materials. She expanded and led new applications for BES from wastewater treatment to resource recovery and carbon dioxide recycling and utilisation for Net zero target. She was an initiator for UKRI Circular Chemical Centre.
Her current research includes understanding fundamentals and engineering applications of electrocatalysis and microbial electrosynthesis for CO2 utilisation, resource recovery from wastes, bioremediation and environment monitoring with bioelectrochemical systems.
She will join the School of Chemistry at the University of Southampton from October 2024.