DATE: Sunday, October 06, 2019 TIME: 03:00 PM - 05:00 PM LOCATION: Al-Jazri Building (Bldg. 4), Room 5209
ABSTRACT:
Controlled and selective electrochemical CO2 reduction to hydrocarbons and oxygenates utilizing energy from renewables such as solar energy is a promising alternative approach to store energy in chemical bonds while simultaneously close the anthropogenic carbon cycle, thus to address the twin problems of fossil fuels depletion and environmental challenges. Copper-based electrocatalysts have been demonstrated promising performance for CO2
reduction. However, Cu usually converts CO2 into a mixture, where more than 16 different species have been identified, and the selective yield of any product is limited by the competing reactions. Other major bottlenecks of Cu electrochemical catalyzed CO2 reduction reaction include the competition of hydrogen evolution reaction (HER), high overpotentials needed towards desired product, and lack of high-value products. In this dissertation, we addressed these three issues via surface modification, sulfurization, and coupling cathodic/anodic reactions, respectively.
