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Chemistry / Re: Is electrolysis of CO2 in a deep eutectic solvent possible?
« on: 12/07/2017 19:47:30 »Electrolysis of CO2 is a highly active research field now, and has a rich history as well. So far nothing of any significant economic value, but basic and applied research has pushed this field quite far in the last few decades.Thanks for the links, I will look into the options. I have no way of making nanoparticles of copper or bismuth, but I guess I could try foils or just solids. I'm not sure how I would my hands on nanoparticle catalysts.
The research I am most familiar with is in the area of electrocatalysis. The composition and surface structure of the electrode that reduces the CO2 (I would call this the cathode, but conventions differ by community) are very important for determining the product distribution. Most of this research involves catalyst nanoparticles deposited on conductive carbon electrodes (graphite or amorphous C). Metals like bismuth can favor CO production (h
ttp://pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/ja501923g) while copper can lead to formation of simple alcohols (h
ttp://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/slct.201601169/full), cobalt, nickel, palladium and platinum often make formic acid (h ttp://pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/acscatal.5b00602). People have also had success using bulk materials like metallic copper, nickel, steel, platinum, gold, titanium, tin and bismuth, which are all known, even mercury (liquid metal electrode!) has been tried.
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Adding water is good for current density but also leads to competing production of hydrogen gas (2H+ + 2e– --> H2 so a careful balance may need to be determined experimentally.I will try varying the concentrations as you suggest.