Speaker: F. Pelayo García de Arquer, ICFO – The Institute of Photonic Sciences
Program Description:
Electrolysis technologies such as water splitting, CO2 electroreduction, and other emerging reactions, present sustainable alternatives to power large industries such as transport (fuels), manufacturing (chemical feedstock) and agriculture (fertilizers). The viability of these technologies hinges upon achieving sufficient achieving sufficient performance in metrics such as product selectivity, productivity (or current density), energy efficiency, and stability, at scale. I will present recent advances and prospects on CO2 electroreduction. I will show how the manipulation of catalyst environment can improve selectivity and productivity towards key multicarbon chemicals such as ethylene, ethanol, and propanol. I will present emerging strategies to address CO2 reactant loss – a major limitation result of rapid carbonate formation in alkaline environments. To conclude, I will provide an overview of the most pressing sustainability issues in the scale up and path to market of CO2 electrolysis technologies.
