(470g) Electrochemical Reaction Engineering for Green Chemistry and Energy: Electrocatalysis & Electrolytes

Electrochemical reaction engineering can be applied to many challenges needing to be addressed for a sustainable future – from where and how we get our fuels and chemicals to how we store and transport our energy. The chemical industry’s carbon emissions are largely from the combustion of fossil fuels for thermal heating of processes. As the renewable electricity contribution to the grid continues to grow and electricity prices continue to drop, electrochemically synthesizing chemicals becomes favorable. Electrochemical synthesis methods offer opportunities to perform reactions under benign reaction conditions (at or near room temperature and pressure), use less harmful or waste-generating reaction steps, and perform selective reactions. In electroreduction reactions, externally supplied hydrogen gas that is generally needed for reduction is not required. Rather, electrons, frequently paired with the electrolyte, are the reducing agents. An example ripe for electrochemical synthesis implementation is that of the biorefinery. The reduction of CO₂ to valuable fuels and chemicals can also be performed electrochemically and has promising results for synthesis of valuable chemicals and fuels.. Tuning electrochemical reactions requires not just the selection and design of good catalyst materials, it also requires tuning the electrolyte-electrode interface. Such interfacial engineering can be done by modifying electrolytes and/or the reactor cell design itself. Electricity utilization and energy storage go hand-in-hand and have many similar challenges. For example, electrolyte tuning in batteries is pivotal to generating stable electrolyte-electrode interfaces and their stable operation, especially when operated at extreme temperatures. In this work, lessons learned from kinetic analyses and electrolyte tuning in electrochemical reactions and energy storage will be presented.