Supercritical CO2 Electrolysis Using Hedgehog Particles

collage of two closeup images of hedgehog particles with engineers working in laboratory.
Figure 1. We nanofabricate electrically conductive hedgehog particles to enable the commercial potential of supercritical CO2 in chemical production.

Economical utilization of captured CO2 becomes possible when it is electrochemically converted into nanoscale products that can be used as fuel, ultrastrong materials, and high performance plastics. However, electrochemical CO2 reduction is inefficient due to low solubility of gaseous CO2 in any solvents.

Using supercritical CO2 (sCO2 a fluid form of CO2 above supercritical temperature and pressure) as the electrochemical medium is gaining significant traction. One of biggest road blocks to electrocatalytic reduction of sCO2 is its low electrical conductivity.

We aim to increase the electrical conductivity of sCO2 by dispersing hedgehog particles (HPs) with conductive metal shells on it. HP dispersions of sCO2 are being investigated for the electrochemical production to value-added chemicals.

Faculty: Nicholas Kotov

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