No catalyst addition and highly efficient dissociation of H2O for the reduction of CO2 to formic acid with Mn.
The "greenhouse effect" caused by the increasing atmospheric CO2 level is becoming extremely serious, and thus, the reduction of CO2 emissions has become an extensive, urgent, and long-term task. The dissociation of water for CO2 reduction with solar energy is regarded as one of the most promising methods for the sustainable development of the environment and energy. However, a high solar-to-fuel efficiency keeps a great challenge. In this work, the first observation of a highly effective, highly selective, and robust system of dissociating water for the reduction of carbon dioxide (CO2) into formic acid with metallic manganese (Mn) is reported. A considerably high formic acid yield of more than 75% on a carbon basis from NaHCO3 was achieved with 98% selectivity in the presence of simple commercially available Mn powder without the addition of any catalyst, and the proposed process is exothermic. Thus, this study may provide a promising method for the highly efficient dissociation of water for CO2 reduction by combining solar-driven thermochemistry with the reduction of MnO into Mn.
School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Shanghai Jiao Tong University , 800 Dongchuan Road, Shanghai 200240, People's Republic of China.
Lingyun
L
Lyu
Xu
X
Zeng
Jun
J
Yun
Feng
F
Wei
Fangming
F
Jin
D002245:Carbon Dioxide / Q000737:chemistry*; D002384:Catalysis; D002851:Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid; D005561:Formates / Q000737:chemistry*; D008401:Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry; D006859:Hydrogen / Q000737:chemistry; D006863:Hydrogen-Ion Concentration; D008345:Manganese / Q000737:chemistry*; D010084:Oxidation-Reduction; D017693:Sodium Bicarbonate / Q000737:chemistry; D013696:Temperature; D013997:Time Factors; D014867:Water / Q000737:chemistry*; D014961:X-Ray Diffraction
D005561:Formates; D014867:Water; C030544:formic acid; D002245:Carbon Dioxide; D008345:Manganese; D006859:Hydrogen; D017693:Sodium Bicarbonate