Photoelectrochemical CO2 -to-fuel conversion with simultaneous plastic reforming
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Solar-driven conversion of CO2 and plastics into value-added products provides a potential sustainable route towards a circular economy, but their simultaneous conversion in an integrated process is yet to be accomplished. Here, we introduce a versatile photoelectrochemical (PEC) platform for CO2 conversion which is coupled to the reforming of plastic. The perovskite-based photocathode enables the integration of different CO2 reduction catalysts such as molecular cobalt porphyrin, Cu91In9 alloy, and formate dehydrogenase, which produce CO, syngas, and formic acid, respectively. The Cu27Pd73 alloy anode selectively reforms polyethylene terephthalate (PET) plastics into glycolic acid. The overall single light-absorber PEC system operates with the help of an internal chemical bias and under zero applied voltage. The system performs similarly to bias-free, dual-light absorber tandems and shows ~10‒100 fold higher production rates than photocatalytic suspension processes. This finding demonstrates efficient CO2-to-fuel conversion coupled to plastic-to-chemical PEC conversion as a promising sustainable technology powered by sunlight.
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2731-0582
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European Commission Horizon 2020 (H2020) Marie Sk?odowska-Curie actions (839763)
European Commission Horizon 2020 (H2020) Marie Sk?odowska-Curie actions (891338)
Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EP/S025308/1)
Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EP/P024947/1)
Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EP/S019367/1)
Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EP/R00661X/1)
EPSRC (via University of Manchester) (EP/X527257/1)