Online Coupling High-Temperature Electrolysis with Carbonylation Reactions: A Powerful Method for Continuous Carbon...

Area of Science:

• Chemical Engineering
• Materials Science
• Sustainable Chemistry

Background:

• Carbon dioxide (CO2) is abundant but underutilized in chemical synthesis due to its molecular stability and inertia.
• Current methods for CO2 utilization are often inefficient or require hazardous CO storage.
• Developing sustainable pathways for CO2 conversion is crucial for a circular economy.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop a scalable and continuous method for producing carbon monoxide (CO) from CO2.
• To integrate CO production with downstream carbonylation reactions.
• To establish a platform for direct CO2-to-carbonyl compound synthesis.

Main Methods:

• High-temperature electrolysis of CO2 using a solid oxide electrolysis cell (SOEC) with an optimized cathode.
• Integration of the SOEC with a continuous-flow coil reactor for synthesis.
• Application in various carbonylation reactions, including amino-, alkoxy-, and phenoxycarbonylation, and carbonylative Sonogashira couplings.

Main Results:

• Efficient production of dry CO from CO2 via high-temperature electrolysis.
• Successful demonstration of continuous carbonylation processes using the in-situ generated CO.
• Synthesis of diverse carbonyl compounds, including redox-active esters.

Conclusions:

• The developed SOEC-based process offers a viable strategy for direct CO2 utilization.
• This approach enables rapid, scalable, and continuous production of carbonyl compounds.
• Eliminates the need for storing large quantities of hazardous CO.