Electrocatalytic Conversion of CO2 to Syngas

Abstract

Technologies for the capture and subsequent conversion of CO2 into useful products have received significant attention in recent years. Among the conversion technologies available today, the electroreduction of CO2 is particularly interesting because of three main reasons. Firstly, it can be carried out at room temperature and with high efficiency. Secondly, it can make use of renewable electricity and lastly the extent of the reduction process can be modulated to produce a wide variety of interesting chemicals, with syngas (i.e. a mixture of H2 and CO with high chemical value) being particularly relevant. This chapter summarizes the most important electroreduction technologies allowing the conversion of CO2/water mixtures into syngas mixtures. The effect of the cathode composition, the configuration of the electrochemical cell, and the reaction conditions on the syngas production performance have been analyzed in detail. Finally, some examples on how the electrochemical promotion of catalysis (EPOC) effect can be used to enhance the CO2 hydrogenation reaction and drive the process to the production of syngas mixtures have been described.