Electrochemical Carbon Dioxide Reduction to Formic Acid in a Flow Cell using Molecular Catalysts

This work adresses the gap between basic research and applied research in the field of CO2 electrolysis using molecular catalysts. The development of new catalysts includes important aspects of the industrial application as early as possible to unlock the true potential of a catalyst and to prevent potential problems that occur when changing to industrially relevant process conditions. The results show that unexpected phenomena can occur when scaling up a technology from lab scale to pilot, or even industrial scale, advocating an effort to come as close as possible to large scale conditions, already in the lab. That can prevent major setbacks in the process and save valuable time and effort. This aspect is underlined by recent research in the specific field of CO2 electrolysis using organometallic complexes, as catalysts show different performance characteristics after immobilization, for example. The successful development of future solutions depends on the interdisciplinary collaboration taking into account molecular considerations as well as process engineering aspects.