Sun-simulated-driven production of high-purity methanol from carbon dioxide

Abstract CO2 conversion to CH3OH under mild conditions is of particular interest yet rather challenging. Both electro- and thermo-catalytic CO2 reduction to CH3OH can only produce CH3OH in low concentration (typically mixed with water), requiring energy-intensive purification processes. Here we desi...

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Main Authors: Jiqing Jiao, Yanbin Ma, Xiaoqian Han, Awu Ergu, Chao Zhang, Pingping Chen, Wei Liu, Qiquan Luo, Zhaolin Shi, Han Xu, Chen Chen, Yaguang Li, Tongbu Lu
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Nature Portfolio 2025-01-01
Series:Nature Communications
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-025-56101-8
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Summary:Abstract CO2 conversion to CH3OH under mild conditions is of particular interest yet rather challenging. Both electro- and thermo-catalytic CO2 reduction to CH3OH can only produce CH3OH in low concentration (typically mixed with water), requiring energy-intensive purification processes. Here we design a sun-simulated-driven tandem catalytic system comprising CO2 electroreduction to syngas, and further photothermal conversion into high-purity CH3OH (volume fraction > 97%). We construct a self-supporting electrocatalyst featuring dual active sites of Ni single atoms and encapsulated Co nanoparticles, which could produce syngas with a constant H2:CO ratio of ~2 via solar-powered CO2 electroreduction. The generated syngas is subsequently fed into the photothermal module, which could produce high-purity CH3OH under 1 sun-light irradiation, with a rate of 0.238 gCH3OH gcat –1 h–1. This work demonstrates a feasible and sustainable route for directly converting CO2 into high-purity CH3OH.
ISSN:2041-1723