Oak Ridge National Laboratory Develops Catalyst that Produces Ethanol from CO2

Although carbon dioxide is a byproduct of combustion, it can be a potential feedstock for the production of organic chemicals if an efficient procedure to convert it can be developed. Researchers from Oak Ridge National Laboratory led by Dr. Yang Song report a nanostructured catalyst for the direct electrochemical conversion of carbon dioxide to ethanol with high efficiency and selectivity.

The catalyst is composed of copper nanoparticles on a highly textured, N-doped carbon nanospike film. The catalyst operates in water and at ambient temperature and pressure. Analysis of the catalyst suggests that the active sites on the copper nanoparticles and the carbon nanospikes work hand in hand to control the electrochemical reduction of carbon monoxide dimer into alcohol.