Research Projects

This project focuses on the electrochemical coversion of CO₂ into valuable C₂ products, specifically the effect of multi metallic catalysts embedded on porous electrodes. The "Tandem catalysis approach" is used to combine two or more metals based on their ability to locally confine CO intermediates in the onder for selective conversion of CO₂ to products. The complexity in catalyst synthesis and reproducibility make this area underexplored. Three different routes of multimetallic catalyst synthesis are proposed: electrodeposition of multimetals, electrodeposition of metal-organic framerwork, and core-shell and alloy nanoparticles. Porous gas diffusion electrodes (GDEs) are also highlighted as a crucial component in the CO₂RR process for achieving high current density. However, most gas-fed reactors suffer from poor electrochemical instability and insufficient operational hours. The final aim is to implement GDEs into state-of-the-art electrolyzers like flow cells and zero gap membrane electrode assembly (MEA)-reactors. The fundamental question is how the arrangement of metal nanoparticles influences the selectivity and productivity of CO₂ converted products. The catalysis will be implemented under industrial conditions, such as a selective product with a current density of -100 mA/cm² and approximately 10,000 operational hours.