Electrochemical Reduction of Carbon Dioxide dissolved in ionic liquids

Abstract

The present work studies a method of electrochemical reduction of CO2 for the production of methane and methanol. Thus, a high pressure facility was assembled and tested for this goal. Some cyclic voltammetry experiments were carried out in order to study the electrochemical window of the electrolyte (the ionic liquid [bmim][BF4] plus water). After the initial tests several electrolysis were performed with various electrode materials (copper, nickel, brass and carbon), at different pressures, reaction times and applied potential to study the influence of these parameters in the electrochemical reduction of CO2. The principal product resulting from the electrochemical reduction of CO2 was methane and hydrogen resulting from the electrolysis of water.