Issue 2, 2019

Energy efficient electrochemical reduction of CO2 to CO using a three-dimensional porphyrin/graphene hydrogel

Abstract

Although electrochemical CO2 reduction is one of the most promising ways to convert atmospheric CO2 into value-added chemicals, there are still numerous limitations to overcome to achieve highly efficient CO2 conversion performance. Herein, we report for the first time the development and use of a three-dimensional iron porphyrin-based graphene hydrogel (FePGH) as an electrocatalyst for extremely efficient robust CO2 reduction to CO. Electrocatalytic CO2 conversion was performed in aqueous medium with FePGH, which has a highly porous and conductive 3D graphene structure, resulting in high catalytic activity for CO production with ∼96.2% faradaic efficiency at a very low overpotential of 280 mV. Furthermore, FePGH showed considerable catalytic durability maintaining a consistent CO yield (96.4% FE) over 20 h electrolysis at the same overpotential, corresponding to the highest cathodic energy efficiency yet observed of 79.7% compared to other state-of-the-art immobilised metal complex electrocatalysts. This approach to fabricating a 3D graphene-based hydrogel electrocatalyst should provide an exciting new avenue for the development of other kinds of molecular electrocatalysts.

Graphical abstract: Energy efficient electrochemical reduction of CO2 to CO using a three-dimensional porphyrin/graphene hydrogel

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Paper
Submitted
20 Nov 2018
Accepted
16 Jan 2019
First published
21 Jan 2019

Energy Environ. Sci., 2019,12, 747-755

Energy efficient electrochemical reduction of CO2 to CO using a three-dimensional porphyrin/graphene hydrogel

J. Choi, J. Kim, P. Wagner, S. Gambhir, R. Jalili, S. Byun, S. Sayyar, Y. M. Lee, D. R. MacFarlane, G. G. Wallace and D. L. Officer, Energy Environ. Sci., 2019, 12, 747 DOI: 10.1039/C8EE03403F

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