Novel hybrid process shows over 90% selectivity for methanol production from carbon dioxide, suggesting efficient reuse of emissions.
Carbon capture and utilization (CCU) is a crucial strategy for mitigating emissions in industries that are challenging to defossilize. While methanol (MeOH) is a valuable chemical, its direct electroreduction from CO 2 (CO 2 RR) remains challenging due to low selectivity and Faradaic efficiency (FE). Here, we present a novel hybrid electro‐thermocatalytic tandem process that overcomes these limitations by coupling CO 2 electroreduction to formic acid (FA) with FA disproportionation to MeOH. The process employs a dendritic bismuth catalyst for highly selective CO 2 RR to FA (FE > 90%) in a flow cell, followed by FA disproportionation using an iridium‐based molecular catalyst under optimized acidic conditions (pH ≈ 0, 25 bar H 2 , 30°C). The thermocatalytic step achieves >90% selectivity and up to 80% yield of MeOH, even at low FA concentrations (1 M). Despite compatibility challenges between the alkaline CO 2 RR and acidic disproportionation steps, sequential coupling demonstrates an overall selectivity of ∼90% for CO 2 ‐to‐MeOH conversion. This work highlights the potential of hybrid processes for efficient CO 2 valorization; however, further optimization is necessary to enhance FA concentration and catalyst recyclability for industrial scalability.
No takes yet. Share an insight, caveat, or question.
Lhostis et al. (2026) studied this question.
Synapse has enriched 5 closely related papers on similar clinical questions. Consider them for comparative context: