Advanced (photo)electrocatalytic approaches to substitute the use of fossil fuels in chemical production

Centi, Gabriele; Perathoner, Siglinda; Genovese, Chiara; Arrigo, Rosa

Abstract

Electrification of the chemical industry for carbon-neutral production requires innovative (photo)electrocatalysis. This study highlights the contribution and discusses recent research projects in this area, which are relevant case examples to explore new directions but characterised by a little background research effort. It is organised into two main sections, where selected examples of innovative directions for electrocatalysis and photoelectrocatalysis are presented. The areas discussed include (i) new approaches to green energy or H2 vectors, (ii) the production of fertilisers directly from the air, (iii) the decoupling of the anodic and cathodic reactions in electrocatalytic or photoelectrocatalytic devices, (iv) the possibilities given by tandem/paired reactions in electrocatalytic devices, including the possibility to form the same product on both cathodic and anodic sides to “double” the efficiency, and (v) exploiting electrocatalytic cells to produce green H2 from biomass. The examples offer hits to expand current areas in electrocatalysis to accelerate the transformation to fossil-free chemical production.

Citation

Centi, G., Perathoner, S., Genovese, C., & Arrigo, R. (in press). Advanced (photo)electrocatalytic approaches to substitute the use of fossil fuels in chemical production. Chemical Communications, 59(21), 3005-3023. https://doi.org/10.1039/d2cc05132j

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Jan 31, 2023
• Online Publication Date: Dec 15, 2023
• Deposit Date: Jan 9, 2024
• Publicly Available Date: Jan 9, 2024
• Journal: Chemical Communications
• Print ISSN: 1359-7345
• Publisher: Royal Society of Chemistry
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 59
• Issue: 21
• Pages: 3005-3023
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1039/d2cc05132j
• Keywords: Materials Chemistry, Metals and Alloys, Surfaces, Coatings and Films, General Chemistry, Ceramics and Composites, Electronic, Optical and Magnetic Materials, Catalysis