the addition of Hydrogen atom to the system Co2
Electrochemical C02 conversion
Asif Hasanli
Introduction
After the Industrial revolution, the usage of coal
and then petroleum products lead the fast
development of the human society. In this manner
the escalation in the population, lead the increase
in the demand to the energy for different industrial
and general purposes. The increase in demand to
energy means that accordingly increase in CO2
emission to atmosphere. As it shown in the figure
1 the main contributor to CO2 emission is
Combustion and followed other main industrial
processes.
The mitigation of greenhouse gases in the
atmosphere is one of the most vital challenges in
all around the world. The scientists have examined
many different methods of converting C02 to the
value-added products. To find the best way for
converting Carbon Dioxide to various
petrochemical products by the electrochemical
way was suggested. Through the process of the
electrochemical conversion 2 factors play
important role:
 Energy source – For promoting Carbon
negative conversion energy source should
be Renewable energy (solar, wind or
biomass);
 Catalyst – To increase the selectivity of
reaction.
To determine the most appropriate reaction
conditions and catalyst profile lots of the
experiments have been done, and experiment
keep going on to optimize the process considering
cost and yield.
Body
As it is mentioned above section, one of the main
concerns in conversion of co2 is type of energy
source. To show the impact of renewable energy
in process Douglas R. Kauffman examined the
effect of energy derived from solar panel in lab
scale. By changing the energy input and varying
is converted to value added products. In the below
graph the driving forces of same reaction is
compared.
The graph describes Electrical input required to
convert CO2 into different products compared
with the CO2 produced from that amount of fossil-
fuel-derived electricity. These outputs support to
demonstrate the effect of renewable energy in
CO2 conversion process. Another important factor
in production of value added products is choosing
efficient catalyst for high yields.
For observing the effect of catalyst on the CO2
reduction reaction different transition metal
electrodes have compared. As a result of various
studies, it is found that the product yield and
composition of the CO2RR depend on the
transition metal’s binding energy of CO. Among
the examined transition metals Au, Ag, and Zn,
which bind CO weakly, and Ni, Pt, and Fe, which
bind CO strongly. In comparison of Cu with these 6
transition metals it has an intermediate binding
energy for CO.
Metals used in the electrochemical conversion of
CO2 can be divided in two different groups
according to the nature of the electrode
1. Metals with a high CO binding (such as Pt, Ni
and Fe), large amounts of H2 are formed and
CO2 is reduced to form tightly adsorbed CO. the
high amount of adsorbed CO poisons the metal
and decreases the CO2 conversion.
2. Metals with low CO binding helps the breaking
of the carbon–oxygen bond in CO2, and allow
the CO to desorb.

As described before Cu has intermediate binding

energy for CO which allows conversion of CO to
more reduced species, such as hydrocarbons and
alcohols in significant amount. Thus, Cu is a unique
metal that shows activity in the electro catalytic
reduction of CO2, forming hydrocarbons and
alcohols in aqueous electrolytes at ambient
temperature and pressure.

During the comparison of described translon

metals, it is found that every metal is capable of
producing methanol or methane.

Conclusion
Considering the CO2 emission and conversion of
CO2 to the value-added products through the
time lots of experiments are done. As it is
described in upper part of this review 2 main
figures: energy source and catalyst are the main
challenges in this subject. The results show that
up to this time there are deficiencies in this area
like finding the desired catalyst with high
efficiencies. Currently the new ways of this
process are experimented, but researchers try to
find out the ideal process variables.

References
1. Douglas R. Kauffman, Jay Thakkar, Rajan
Siva, Christopher Matranga, Paul R.
Ohodnicki, Chenjie Zeng, and Rongchao
Jin Efficient Electrochemical CO2
Conversion Powered by Renewable
Energy
2. J. Albo, M. Alvarez-Guerra, P. Castaño and
A. Irabien Towards the electrochemical
conversion of carbon dioxide into
methanol
3. Kendra P. Kuhl, Toru Hatsukade, Etosha R.
Cave, David N. Abram, Jakob Kibsgaard,
and Thomas F. Jaramillo Electrocatalytic
Conversion of Carbon Dioxide to Methane
and Methanol on Transition Metal
Surfaces