Solar-driven Plastic Reforming With CO₂ Conversion to Value-Added Chemicals Using Bifunctional Copper Hydroxide...

Area of Science:

• Electrochemistry
• Materials Science
• Catalysis

Background:

• Plastic waste, particularly polyethylene terephthalate (PET), poses significant environmental challenges.
• Electrochemical reduction of carbon dioxide (CO₂RR) offers a pathway to convert CO₂ into valuable chemicals.
• Replacing the oxygen evolution reaction (OER) with plastic reforming in CO₂RR systems can reduce energy consumption.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop a bifunctional catalyst for simultaneous PET oxidation and CO₂RR.
• To achieve efficient conversion of both PET and CO₂ into valuable chemicals.
• To create a sustainable system for plastic upcycling coupled with CO₂ reduction.

Main Methods:

• A bifunctional copper hydroxide (Cu(OH)₂) catalyst was synthesized and characterized.
• The catalyst was employed in an electrochemical system coupled with CO₂ reduction.
• The system was driven by a silicon solar cell module for solar-driven operation.

Main Results:

• The Cu(OH)₂-derived catalyst achieved a formate Faradaic efficiency (FE) of 89.5% on the anode and an ethylene FE of 60.8% on the cathode.
• CuOOH formation was observed, enhancing ethylene glycol adsorption and oxidation.
• High product formation rates of 4.72 mmol/h/cm² (formate) and 9.65 mmol/h/cm² (ethylene) were achieved at 302.7 mA/cm².

Conclusions:

• The bifunctional catalyst enables efficient solar electrochemical upcycling of PET plastic coupled with CO₂ reduction.
• This approach offers a sustainable strategy for producing value-added fuels and chemicals.
• The developed system simplifies complexity by integrating plastic reforming with CO₂RR.