Catalytic conversion of carbon dioxide to methanol and higher order alcohols at a photoelectrochemical interface

Kate Keets; Amanda Morris; Elizabeth Zeitler; Prasad Lakkaraju; Andrew Bocarsly

doi:10.1117/12.860024

24 August 2010 Catalytic conversion of carbon dioxide to methanol and higher order alcohols at a photoelectrochemical interface

Kate Keets, Amanda Morris, Elizabeth Zeitler, Prasad Lakkaraju, Andrew Bocarsly

Author Affiliations +

Proceedings Volume 7770, Solar Hydrogen and Nanotechnology V; 77700R (2010) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.860024
Event: SPIE Solar Energy + Technology, 2010, San Diego, California, United States

Abstract

There is increasing interest in photochemical schemes for converting CO₂ into a useful product as a means of mitigating atmospheric levels of this gas. Although photoelectrochemical schemes have been considered for this application, typically very high overpotentials are observed, and thus, semiconductor-electrolyte interfaces have not been observed to actually convert light energy to chemical energy in the aqueous CO₂ redox system. We report here on a catalytic system that efficiently converts CO₂ to methanol and other alcohols. The system couples a III-V p-type semiconductor electrode with a pyridinium catalyst. The conversion of CO₂ to alcohols can be driven solely with light to yield faradaic efficiencies approaching 100% at potentials well below the thermodynamic potential. Mechanistic studies on the formation of methanol indicate that the observed six-electron reduction occurs via a series of one electron reductions mediated by pyridinium.

Citation Download Citation

Kate Keets, Amanda Morris, Elizabeth Zeitler, Prasad Lakkaraju, and Andrew Bocarsly "Catalytic conversion of carbon dioxide to methanol and higher order alcohols at a photoelectrochemical interface", Proc. SPIE 7770, Solar Hydrogen and Nanotechnology V, 77700R (24 August 2010); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.860024

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