Dresden 2014 – wissenschaftliches Programm

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O: Fachverband Oberflächenphysik

O 30: Surface Chemical Reactions and Heterogeneous Catalysis II

O 30.1: Vortrag

Dienstag, 1. April 2014, 10:30–10:45, PHY C 213

Recent mechanistic insights into the electrochemical CO2 reduction at platinum electrodes in pyridine containing electrolytes — •Katrin R. Bickel, Simon Filser, Qi Li, Konrad Schönleber und Katharina Krischer — Nonequilibrium Chemical Physics, Physics Department, Technical University Munich, Germany

The development of suitable energy storage concepts is essential for the efficient use of renewable energy sources. One promising approach is the electrochemical conversion of CO2 to liquid or gaseous fuels. However, due to the large activation barrier for the reduction of CO2, such a process is challenging.

In the 1990s, Bocarsly et al. reported that in the presence of pyridine CO2 can be electrochemically reduced to methanol on palladium or platinum electrodes at a comparably low overpotential [1]. Despite various electrochemical and theoretical studies, the mechanism of this reduction process is still unclear. In particular, the role of the metal surface and the occurring reaction intermediates are under dispute.

We present recent results of a mechanistic study of the CO2 reduction in the presence of pyridine, amongst others by rotating disk electrode measurements. We found strong indications for the presence of an adsorbed pyridine species at the metal electrode. Therefore, a particular focus is placed on the nature of this surface species and its role in the reduction process.

[1] G. Seshadri, C. Lin, A. B. Bocarsly; J. Electroanal. Chem., 1994, 372, 145