Growth of electrolytic bubbles in the electrochemical reduction of CO2

In the past decades, plastic waste streams and CO2 emissions raised major concerns due to the strong environmental impact and the direct involvement in climate change and pollution. Aligned with these societal concerns, the development of chemical processes using less energy and generating less by-products is also part of the essential changes needed in industry. The ambition of this large research program is to develop a range of innovative catalytic technologies that enable the recycling and reuse of these waste streams as feedstocks (i.e., plastics and CO2) for the production of new and high-quality products. The development of novel methods allowing for conducting important chemical processes under mild reaction conditions, by using renewable electricity and light, is also included in this program.

Using CO2 as a feedstock for the industrial production of base chemicals is an appealing approach to prevent greenhouse gas emissions. Compared to traditional thermal catalysis, electrochemical processes are appealing because they offer the prospect of feeding energy directly into the breakage and new formation of specific chemical bonds, without needing to heat the entire reactor.