Chinese researchers develop catalysts for CO2 photoelectroreduction to ethanol

In China, artificial photosynthesis (AP), using sunlight to produce valuable chemicals and fuels from carbon dioxide (CO2), is a promising strategy to achieve solar energy storage as well as negative carbon cycle.

However, artificial photosynthesis is quite complex and involves multiple sequential and parallel steps. What’s more, thermodynamically favorable C1 products can be produced from multiple AP intermediates, making it challenging to selectively produce target chemicals containing C-C bonds.

Recently, a research team from the Shanghai Advanced Research Institute (SARI) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences has developed novel graphene/silicon carbide (SiC) catalysts for efficient CO2 photoelectroreduction to ethanol (C2H5OH). The results were published in Angewandte Chemie International Edition.