Experimental and Modeling Study for the Solar-Driven CO<sub>2</sub> Electrochemical Reduction to CO
With the rising levels of atmospheric CO<sub>2</sub>, electrochemistry shows great promise in decarbonizing industrial processes by converting CO<sub>2</sub> into valuable products through scalable and sustainable technologies. In this framework, the present study investigate...
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2025-01-01
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| author | Matteo Agliuzza Roberto Speranza Andrea Lamberti Candido Fabrizio Pirri Adriano Sacco |
| author_facet | Matteo Agliuzza Roberto Speranza Andrea Lamberti Candido Fabrizio Pirri Adriano Sacco |
| author_sort | Matteo Agliuzza |
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| description | With the rising levels of atmospheric CO<sub>2</sub>, electrochemistry shows great promise in decarbonizing industrial processes by converting CO<sub>2</sub> into valuable products through scalable and sustainable technologies. In this framework, the present study investigates the solar-driven CO<sub>2</sub> reduction toward carbon monoxide, achieved by the integration between the electrochemical reactor and dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs), both in experimental and modeling perspectives. COMSOL<sup>®</sup> Multiphysics 6.3 was used to develop a detailed finite element method model of the electrochemical cell integrated with a photovoltaic module, validated with the experimental results that demonstrated a strong correlation. A 2D model was designed, incorporating cathode and anode regions divided by an ion-exchange membrane. The model includes platinum foil and silver nanoparticles as catalysts for the oxygen evolution reaction and CO<sub>2</sub> reduction reaction, respectively. Integration with the fundamental equations of the DSSCs was simulated to analyze the solar-driven CO<sub>2</sub> reduction behavior under solar irradiance variations, offering a valuable tool for optimizing operating conditions and predicting the device performance under different environmental conditions. The integrated device successfully produces CO with a faradaic efficiency of 73.85% at a current density of J = 3.35 mA/cm<sup>2</sup> under 1 sun illumination, with the result validated and reproduced by the mathematical model. Under reduced illumination conditions of 0.8 and 0.6 suns, faradaic efficiencies of 68.5% and 64.1% were achieved, respectively. |
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| institution | Kabale University |
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| language | English |
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| spelling | doaj-art-3c5118f609af47c388944f16dfc0d0e82025-01-24T13:19:47ZengMDPI AGApplied Sciences2076-34172025-01-0115254910.3390/app15020549Experimental and Modeling Study for the Solar-Driven CO<sub>2</sub> Electrochemical Reduction to COMatteo Agliuzza0Roberto Speranza1Andrea Lamberti2Candido Fabrizio Pirri3Adriano Sacco4Applied Science and Technology Department, Politecnico di Torino, Corso Duca degli Abruzzi 24, 10129 Torino, ItalyApplied Science and Technology Department, Politecnico di Torino, Corso Duca degli Abruzzi 24, 10129 Torino, ItalyApplied Science and Technology Department, Politecnico di Torino, Corso Duca degli Abruzzi 24, 10129 Torino, ItalyApplied Science and Technology Department, Politecnico di Torino, Corso Duca degli Abruzzi 24, 10129 Torino, ItalyCenter for Sustainable Future Technologies @Polito, Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia, Via Livorno 60, 10144 Torino, ItalyWith the rising levels of atmospheric CO<sub>2</sub>, electrochemistry shows great promise in decarbonizing industrial processes by converting CO<sub>2</sub> into valuable products through scalable and sustainable technologies. In this framework, the present study investigates the solar-driven CO<sub>2</sub> reduction toward carbon monoxide, achieved by the integration between the electrochemical reactor and dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs), both in experimental and modeling perspectives. COMSOL<sup>®</sup> Multiphysics 6.3 was used to develop a detailed finite element method model of the electrochemical cell integrated with a photovoltaic module, validated with the experimental results that demonstrated a strong correlation. A 2D model was designed, incorporating cathode and anode regions divided by an ion-exchange membrane. The model includes platinum foil and silver nanoparticles as catalysts for the oxygen evolution reaction and CO<sub>2</sub> reduction reaction, respectively. Integration with the fundamental equations of the DSSCs was simulated to analyze the solar-driven CO<sub>2</sub> reduction behavior under solar irradiance variations, offering a valuable tool for optimizing operating conditions and predicting the device performance under different environmental conditions. The integrated device successfully produces CO with a faradaic efficiency of 73.85% at a current density of J = 3.35 mA/cm<sup>2</sup> under 1 sun illumination, with the result validated and reproduced by the mathematical model. Under reduced illumination conditions of 0.8 and 0.6 suns, faradaic efficiencies of 68.5% and 64.1% were achieved, respectively.https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3417/15/2/549CO<sub>2</sub> valorizationcarbon monoxideelectrochemical reactorfinite element method modelingdye-sensitized solar cellPV-driven CO<sub>2</sub> reduction |
| spellingShingle | Matteo Agliuzza Roberto Speranza Andrea Lamberti Candido Fabrizio Pirri Adriano Sacco Experimental and Modeling Study for the Solar-Driven CO<sub>2</sub> Electrochemical Reduction to CO Applied Sciences CO<sub>2</sub> valorization carbon monoxide electrochemical reactor finite element method modeling dye-sensitized solar cell PV-driven CO<sub>2</sub> reduction |
| title | Experimental and Modeling Study for the Solar-Driven CO<sub>2</sub> Electrochemical Reduction to CO |
| title_full | Experimental and Modeling Study for the Solar-Driven CO<sub>2</sub> Electrochemical Reduction to CO |
| title_fullStr | Experimental and Modeling Study for the Solar-Driven CO<sub>2</sub> Electrochemical Reduction to CO |
| title_full_unstemmed | Experimental and Modeling Study for the Solar-Driven CO<sub>2</sub> Electrochemical Reduction to CO |
| title_short | Experimental and Modeling Study for the Solar-Driven CO<sub>2</sub> Electrochemical Reduction to CO |
| title_sort | experimental and modeling study for the solar driven co sub 2 sub electrochemical reduction to co |
| topic | CO<sub>2</sub> valorization carbon monoxide electrochemical reactor finite element method modeling dye-sensitized solar cell PV-driven CO<sub>2</sub> reduction |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3417/15/2/549 |
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