Modulating H2O Activity Promotes CO2 Reduction to Multi-Carbon Products

调节 H2O 活性可促进多碳产品的 CO2 还原

• 批准号: 2326720
• 负责人: Anthony Hall
• 金额: $ 45万
• 依托单位: Johns Hopkins University
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2024
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2024-01-01 至 2026-12-31
• 项目状态: 未结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=2326720&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Modulating; H2O; Activity; Promotes; CO2

Electrochemistry – driven by sustainable or renewable electrical energy generated by wind or solar energy – offers a path toward a sustainable, circular carbon economy, thereby reducing our reliance on fossil fuels and mitigating the impacts of climate change. To that end, the project focuses on transforming carbon dioxide (CO2), a major greenhouse gas, into value-added chemicals and fuels. The novelty of the project lies in understanding the role of water in the electrochemical reactions that convert CO2 efficiently and selectively to multi-carbon hydrocarbon chemicals for use as building-blocks for a broad range of products including fuels, plastics, coatings, and construction products. By varying the concentration of salt in a solution, the chemical activity of water (H2O) can be altered, potentially enabling greater control over the reaction of CO2 with H2O to produce the desired multi-carbon products. Beyond the technical aspects, the project offers educational and training opportunities in STEM areas, especially focused on socioeconomically disadvantaged students. The project investigates the role of H2O in modulating the electrocatalytic CO2 reduction reaction (CO2RR) to favor efficient and selective formation of C2+ products. Preliminary data from the investigator’s laboratory has shown that lowering the water activity favors the generation of multi-carbon products. By adjusting the salt concentrations within a range of 0.1 to 10 molal in the water the investigators have successfully altered the activity of water in the solution, which, in turn, enhances the production of C2 products over their C1 counterparts. Three specific project thrusts will be pursued to understand the origin of improved electrochemical reduction of CO2 to C2 or C2+ products with decreased water activity, namely: 1) optimize solution composition by simultaneously varying the cation, anion, and water activity for improved CO2-to-multicarbon fuels on Cu electrodes, 2) interrogate the role of the electrolyte structure in modulating catalysis with surface-enhanced in-situ infrared absorption spectroscopy (SEIRAS); and 3) explore electrolyte engineering to boost CO2 reduction to multi-carbon alcohols on Cu-alloy catalysts. Broader educational and outreach aspects of the project will introduce socioeconomically disadvantaged students to concepts of renewable energy research. Specifically, the investigator, along with a post-doctoral associate and undergraduate student, will participate in the Engineering Innovation Program (EIP) at Johns Hopkins University. Students will conduct straightforward hands-on experiments to acquaint them with fundamental renewable energy concepts, with the goal of piquing their interest in STEM areas as related to educational and career paths supporting greenhouse gas reduction and mitigation of environmental impacts.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.

电化学——由风能或太阳能产生的可持续或可再生电能驱动——提供了一条通往可持续、循环碳经济的道路，从而减少我们对化石燃料的依赖并减轻气候变化的影响。为此，该项目的重点是。将主要温室气体二氧化碳 (CO2) 转化为增值化学品和燃料 该项目的新颖之处在于了解水在电化学反应中的作用，这些电化学反应可有效且选择性地将二氧化碳转化为多碳烃化学品以供使用。作为通过改变溶液中盐的浓度，可以改变水 (H2O) 的化学活性，从而可以更好地控制水的反应，包括燃料、塑料、涂料和建筑产品。 CO2 与 H2O 生产所需的多碳产品之外，该项目还提供 STEM 领域的教育和培训机会，特别关注社会经济地位较低的学生。该项目研究了 H2O 在调节电催化 CO2 还原方面的作用。 (CO2RR) 有利于 C2+ 产物的有效和选择性形成。研究人员实验室的初步数据表明，通过将盐浓度调整在 0.1 至 10 摩尔摩尔范围内，降低水活度有利于多碳产物的生成。研究人员成功地改变了溶液中水的活性，从而提高了 C2 产品的产量，使其超过了 C1 位置，将追求三个特定的项目主旨来了解改进电化学的起源。将 CO2 还原为 C2 或 C2+ 产物，同时降低水活度，即：1) 通过同时改变阳离子、阴离子和水活度来优化溶液组成，以改进铜电极上的 CO2 转化为多碳燃料，2) 探讨利用表面增强原位红外吸收光谱 (SEIRAS) 调节催化中的电解质结构；3) 探索电解质工程以促进 CO2 还原为多碳醇；该项目的更广泛的教育和推广方面将向社会弱势学生介绍可再生能源研究的概念，具体而言，研究人员将与一名博士后助理和本科生一起参加工程创新计划（EIP）。学生将进行简单的实践实验，以熟悉基本的可再生能源概念，目的是激发他们对支持温室气体减排和减轻环境影响的教育和职业道路相关的 STEM 领域的兴趣。奖项反映通过使用基金会的智力价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，NSF 的法定使命被认为值得支持。