2. Academic Validation
  3. CO2 electrochemical catalytic reduction with a highly active cobalt phthalocyanine

CO2 electrochemical catalytic reduction with a highly active cobalt phthalocyanine

  • Nat Commun. 2019 Aug 9;10(1):3602. doi: 10.1038/s41467-019-11542-w.
Min Wang 1,  Kristian Torbensen 1,  Danielle Salvatore 2,  Shaoxuan Ren 3,  Dorian Joulié 1 3,  Fabienne Dumoulin 4,  Daniela Mendoza 1 5,  Benedikt Lassalle-Kaiser 5,  Umit Işci 6,  Curtis P Berlinguette 7 8 9,  Marc Robert 10
Affiliations

Affiliations

  • 1 Université de Paris, Laboratoire d'Electrochimie Moléculaire, CNRS, F-75013, Paris, France.
  • 2 Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, The University of British Columbia, 2360 East Mall, Vancouver, BC, V6Y 1Z3, Canada.
  • 3 Department of Chemistry, The University of British Columbia, 2036 Main Mall, Vancouver, BC, V6T 1Z1, Canada.
  • 4 Gebze Technical University, Department of Chemistry, 41400, Gebze, Kocaeli, Turkey.
  • 5 Synchrotron SOLEIL, L'Orme des Merisiers, Saint-Aubin, 91192, Gif-sur-Yvette, France.
  • 6 Gebze Technical University, Department of Chemistry, 41400, Gebze, Kocaeli, Turkey. u.isci@gtu.edu.tr.
  • 7 Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, The University of British Columbia, 2360 East Mall, Vancouver, BC, V6Y 1Z3, Canada. cberling@chem.ubc.ca.
  • 8 Department of Chemistry, The University of British Columbia, 2036 Main Mall, Vancouver, BC, V6T 1Z1, Canada. cberling@chem.ubc.ca.
  • 9 Stewart Blusson Quantum Matter Institute, The University of British Columbia, 2355 East Mall, Vancouver, BC, V6T 1Z4, Canada. cberling@chem.ubc.ca.
  • 10 Université de Paris, Laboratoire d'Electrochimie Moléculaire, CNRS, F-75013, Paris, France. robert@univ-paris-diderot.fr.
PMID: 31399585 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-019-11542-w
Abstract

Molecular catalysts that combine high product selectivity and high current density for CO2 electrochemical reduction to CO or Other chemical feedstocks are urgently needed. While earth-abundant metal-based molecular electrocatalysts with high selectivity for CO2 to CO conversion are known, they are characterized by current densities that are significantly lower than those obtained with solid-state metal Materials. Here, we report that a cobalt phthalocyanine bearing a trimethyl ammonium group appended to the phthalocyanine macrocycle is capable of reducing CO2 to CO in water with high activity over a broad pH range from 4 to 14. In a flow cell configuration operating in basic conditions, CO production occurs with excellent selectivity (CA. 95%), and good stability with a maximum partial current density of 165 mA cm-2 (at -0.92 V vs. RHE), matching the most active noble metal-based nanocatalysts. These results represent state-of-the-art performance for electrolytic carbon dioxide reduction by a molecular catalyst.

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