Electrode surface modifications towards the Electrosynthesis of Ethylene from CO₂

Perry, Samuel, Ponce de León, Carlos and Wang, Ling (2018) Electrode surface modifications towards the Electrosynthesis of Ethylene from CO₂. Electrochem 2018, Lancaster University, Lancaster, United Kingdom. 16 - 18 Sep 2018.

Abstract

The substitution of fossil based production routes with new and innovative synthesis strategies for bulk chemicals as well as fuels or fuel additives will become a strategic goal within the next decade. One promising avenue is the use of CO2 as a carbon source in the synthesis of useful materials such as methanol or ethylene.1, 2 Such reactions have been successfully demonstrated at copper electrodes, which seem uniquely qualified to give a range of possible end products for CO2 reduction.3, 4 Unfortunately, this success is also the major limitation to this method, as the wide number of products results in selectivity issues when trying to produce one specific target molecule. In this work, we focus on the development of a CO2-based electrosynthesis of ethylene at copper working electrodes. Building on existing studies that probed the impact of crystal face, electrolyte and pH on product selectivity,5-7 we use a series of targeted pre-treatment regimes in order to favour ethylene production. These range from simple alterations in the potential waveform, through to surface enhancements through roughening, nanostructuring and electrodeposition. Through these, we move towards defining an easily accessible surface structure that gives sufficient selectivity towards ethylene to provide a useful, and eventually scalable route to ethylene synthesis from CO2.

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Contributors

Author: Samuel Perry

Author: Ling Wang

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