(390a) Acidic Media Enables Oxygen-Tolerant Electrosynthesis of Multicarbon Products from Dilute CO2 in Simulated Flue Gas

Renewable electricity powered electrochemical CO₂ reduction (CO₂R) offers a valuable method to close the carbon cycle and reduce our overreliance on fossil fuels. However, high purity CO₂ is usually required as feedstock, which potentially decreases the feasibility and economic viability of the process. Direct conversion of flue gas is an attractive option but is challenging due to the low CO₂ concentration and the presence of O₂ impurities. As a result, up to 99% of the applied current can be lost towards the undesired oxygen reduction reaction (ORR). Here, we show that acidic electrolyte can significantly suppress ORR on Cu, enabling generation of multicarbon products from simulated flue gas. Using a composite Cu and carbon supported single-atom Ni tandem electrocatalyst, we achieved a multicarbon Faradaic efficiency of 46.5% at 200 mA cm^-2, which is ~20 times higher than bare Cu under alkaline conditions. We also demonstrate stable performance for 24 h with a multicarbon product full-cell energy efficiency of 14.6%. Strikingly, this result is comparable to previously reported acidic CO₂R systems using pure CO₂. Our findings demonstrate a potential pathway towards designing efficient electrolyzers for direct conversion of flue gas to value-added chemicals and fuels¹.

(1) Wang, M.; Wang, B.; Zhang, J.; Xi, S.; Ling, N.; Mi, Z.; Yang, Q.; Zhang, M.; Leow, W. R.; Zhang, J.; Lum, Y. Nature Communications 2024, 15 (1), 1218.