Xu Z,
Lu R,
Lin Z-Y,
Wu W,
Tsai H-J,
Lu Q,
Li YC,
Hung S-F *,
Song C,
Yu JC,
Wang Z *,
Wang Y *.
National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University, Hsinchu, Taiwan; University of Auckland,
New Zealand; The Chinese University of Hong Kong, P. R. China
Electroreduction of CO
2 to Methane with Triazole Molecular Catalysts.
Nat. Energy 2024;
9: 1397-1406
DOI:
10.1038/s41560-024-01645-0
Keywords
CO
2 reduction (CO
2RR) methane - diaminotriazoles - electrolysis
Significance
The authors report a diaminotriazole (DAT)-based electrochemical system for the reduction
of CO2 to CH4. Unique chemical properties of DAT (high electron density and the presence of highly
nucleophilic NH2 groups) allow for efficient multiple electron transfer steps as well as for the formation
of a spatial active site network, maintaining process selectivity. The achieved level
of efficiency and activity of CH4 prouction is comparable to state-of-the-art single-site metal-based systems.
Comment
The CO2 reduction to methane is extremely challenging both kinetically and thermodynamically.
Electrochemical reductions often additionally suffer from low selectivity due to poor
control over key intermediates. The authors overcame these challenges by directing
the reaction along a novel pathway with low-energy intermediates whose formation is
triggered and controlled by DAT catalyst. Although this pathway requires further investigation,
the demonstrated results are undoubtedly encouraging.
