Cuprous Single Sites in Metal-Organic Frameworks for Fuel Synthesis by Electrocatalytic CO2 Reduction

Klimaendringene er et faktum, med økende bevis for og vitenskapelig konsensus om den menneskeskapte opprinnelsen, knyttet til det økende nivået i atmosfæren av CO2, en direkte konsekvens av vår industri og levesett. Selv om det er gjort store fremskritt med å elektrifisere våre hjem, transport og industrien ved å bruke fornybare energikilder, vil dette alene ikke kunne dekke alle våre energibehov. Fornybar energi kan ikke levere en konstant mengde elektrisitet (for eksempel er det ikke alltid sol/vind), og strømbruk er ikke alltid der kilden er (avsidesliggende samfunn, skip, fly...). I dette prosjektet skal vi bruke materialer som kan bruke fornybar energi til å transformere CO2 direkte til flytende drivstoff, og dermed adressere både energi- og klimakrisene. Vi vil bruke en innovativ materialtype med kobber som katalytisk sete, som nylig har vist seg lovende for dette formålet. Målet med prosjektet er en ny og rimelig teknologi som kan forvandle CO2 til et klimanøytralt og anvendbart brensel.

In a bid to reduce atmospheric CO2 levels while converting it into useful chemicals (synthetic fuels methane and methanol), the project undertakes the development of new advanced materials with accurately designed, abundant, and accessible electrochemically active sites. Albeit there is a tremendous body of work into electrocatalytic CO2 reduction, several competing products, high process energy demand, and materials costs remain roadblocks for large-scale applications. Our approach to overcoming the above challenges is the development and assessment of a new family of 3-dimensional metal-organic frameworks based on copper(i) centres, coordinated to two heterocyclic nitrogen and two carboxylic oxygen atoms. Such moieties have recently been suggested as active and selective in CH4/CH3OH production, which are both promising synthetic fuels offering carbon-neutral alternatives of fossil fuels, without a need for infrastructural changes. In addition, MOFs are highly porous and uniform, thereby allowing for a great concentration of accessible redox sites. We will employ a combined effort of materials design and performance testing both in the liquid- and gas phases, exploring lower- and higher risk approaches, respectively. It should be noted that MOFs have particularly high capacity for local CO2 densification, which is promising for gas-phase processes. The structural and compositional evolution of species will be explored using state-of-the-art spectroscopic and scattering techniques, which, combined with theoretical modelling, will enable us to unravel the relevant reaction mechanisms for selected electrocatalysts. This effort will help us understand the requirements for the advanced materials to perform well in the electrocatalytic conversion of waste CO2 into value-added synthetic fuels methane and methanol, and thus to optimise performance. Such approach will greatly contribute to the green energy transition offering a reliable alternative for energy storage.