Photothermal Assisted Biomass Oxidation for Pairing Carbon Dioxide Electroreduction with Low Cell Potential.

Integrating anodic biomass valorization with carbon dioxide electroreduction (CORR) can produce value-added chemicals on both the cathode and anode; however, anodic oxidation still suffers from high overpotential. Herein, a photothermal-assisted method was developed to reduce the potential of 5-hydroxymethyl furfural (HMF) electrooxidation. Capitalizing on the copious oxygen vacancies, defective CoO (D-CoO) exhibited a stronger photothermal effect, delivering a local temperature of 175.

High-purity ethylene production via indirect carbon dioxide electrochemical reduction.

High-purity ethylene production from CO electroreduction (CORR) is a coveted, yet arduous feat because the product stream comprises a blend of unreacted CO, H and other off-target CO reduction products. Here we present an indirect reduction strategy for CO-to-ethylene conversion, one that employs 2-bromoethanol (Br-EO) as a mediator. Br-EO is initially generated from CORR and subsequently undergoes reduction to ethylene without the need for energy-intensive separation steps.