Harnessing Applied Potential for Sunlight Driven CO2 Utilization

Escalating CO₂ emissions due to increasing fossil fuel consumption is generally acknowledged as one of the major contributors to global warming. Therefore, the development of methods for reducing the amount of CO₂ released is a major challenge with significant societal consequences. Pressures on fossil fuel resources in the coming decades also mean that raw materials for the chemical industry must be found that can reduce our reliance on fossil fuel-based feedstocks. One promising approach towards reducing our reliance on fossil fuel based raw materials for chemical synthesis is to use CO₂ from the atmosphere as a starting material. We herein report an electrosynthetic process for converting atmospheric CO₂ into organic molecules (cyclic carbonates (5, 6 and 7 membered rings), acyclic carbonates, carbamates and alcohols) that is powered by sunlight. This is one of only a handful of approaches that activates CO₂ at atmospheric pressure and ambient temperature, and provides a step change in the area.

See for example our initial communication in the area: Electrosynthesis of Cyclic Carbonates from Epoxides and Atmospheric Pressure Carbon Dioxide, Benjamin R. Buckley, Anish P. Patel and K. G. Upul Wijayantha. Chem. Commun. 2011, 47, 11888-11890.