Catalysts for carbon dioxide conversion
AssigneeThe Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois
InventorsAmin Salehi-Khojin, Mohammad Asadi, Bijandra Kumar
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Abstract
The disclosure relates generally to improved methods for the reduction of carbon dioxide. The disclosure relates more specifically to catalytic methods for electrochemical reduction of carbon dioxide that can be operated at commercially viable voltages and at low overpotentials. The disclosure uses a transition metal dichalcogenide and helper catalyst in contact within the cell.
Claims22
A method of electrochemically reducing carbon dioxide in an electrochemical cell having a cathode comprising at least one transition metal dichalcogenide, an electrolyte in contact with the cathode, and an anode, the method comprising
- contacting the carbon dioxide with the at least one transition metal dichalcogenide of the cathode of the electrochemical cell, the electrolyte comprising at least one helper catalyst, each helper catalyst comprising at least one positively charged nitrogen, sulfur, or phosphorus group and
- applying a potential to the electrochemical cell sufficient to reduce the carbon dioxide, wherein the transition metal dichalcogenide is in nanoflake, nanosheet, or nanoribbon form, the transition metal dichalcogenide nanoflakes, nanosheets, or nanoribbons having an average size between about 1 nm and 400 nm.
An electrochemical cell having a cathode comprising at least one transition metal dichalcogenide, wherein the transition metal dichalcogenide is in nanoflake, nanosheet, or nanoribbon form, the transition metal dichalcogenide nanoflakes, nanosheets, or nanoribbons having an average size between about 1 nm and 400 nm, and an electrolyte comprising at least one helper catalyst comprising at least one positively charged nitrogen, sulfur, or phosphorus group in contact with the transition metal dichalcogenide.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.