Zhang Chao, Hao Xiaobin, Wang Jiatang, Ding Xiayu, Zhong Yuan, Jiang Yawen, Wu Ming-Chung, Long Ran, Gong Wanbing, Liang Changhao, Cai Weiwei, Low Jingxiang, Xiong Yujie
Hefei National Research Center for Physical Sciences at the Microscale, School of Chemistry and Materials Science, and National Synchrotron Radiation Laboratory, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, Anhui, 230026, China.
Suzhou Institute for Advanced Research, University of Science and Technology of China, Suzhou, Jiangsu, 215123, China.
Angew Chem Int Ed Engl. 2024 Mar 22;63(13):e202317628. doi: 10.1002/anie.202317628. Epub 2024 Feb 20.
The production of formic acid via electrochemical CO reduction may serve as a key link for the carbon cycle in the formic acid economy, yet its practical feasibility is largely limited by the quantity and concentration of the product. Here we demonstrate continuous electrochemical CO reduction for formic acid production at 2 M at an industrial-level current densities (i.e., 200 mA cm ) for 300 h on membrane electrode assembly using scalable lattice-distorted bismuth catalysts. The optimized catalysts also enable a Faradaic efficiency for formate of 94.2 % and a highest partial formate current density of 1.16 A cm , reaching a production rate of 21.7 mmol cm h . To assess the practicality of this system, we perform a comprehensive techno-economic analysis and life cycle assessment, showing that our approach can potentially substitute conventional methyl formate hydrolysis for industrial formic acid production. Furthermore, the resultant formic acid serves as direct fuel for air-breathing formic acid fuel cells, boasting a power density of 55 mW cm and an exceptional thermal efficiency of 20.1 %.
通过电化学CO还原生产甲酸可能是甲酸经济中碳循环的关键环节，但其实际可行性在很大程度上受到产物数量和浓度的限制。在此，我们展示了在使用可扩展的晶格畸变铋催化剂的膜电极组件上，以2M的浓度在工业级电流密度（即200 mA cm²）下连续电化学CO还原生产甲酸300小时。优化后的催化剂还能实现94.2%的甲酸法拉第效率和1.16 A cm²的最高甲酸分电流密度，产率达到21.7 mmol cm⁻² h⁻¹。为评估该系统的实用性，我们进行了全面的技术经济分析和生命周期评估，结果表明我们的方法有可能替代传统的甲酸甲酯水解用于工业甲酸生产。此外，所得甲酸可作为空气呼吸式甲酸燃料电池的直接燃料，功率密度为55 mW cm²，热效率高达20.1%。
