Prof. Dr. rer. nat. Iris Herrmann-Geppert

Reducing climate-damaging CO₂ in the atmosphere is one of the greatest global challenges. Converting CO₂ emissions from industrial processes into platform chemicals can make a significant contribution to this. As part of the HSMW’s SMWK innovation project, the Chair of Applied Chemistry, in collaboration with the Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin (HZB) and the Technical University of Darmstadt (TU Darmstadt), has succeeded in testing electrochemical CO₂ reduction (CO₂RR) using an efficient catalyst material. CO₂RR represents a potential and more efficient alternative to existing chemical processes.

In contrast to the already commercially established electrolysis of water to produce hydrogen, the co-electrolysis of CO₂ and H₂O (CO₂RR) to produce industrially usable products (e.g. CO, HCOOH, HCHO, CH₃OH, C₂H₄) presents a major scientific and technical challenge in the field of catalyst development and process control. In contrast to the relatively simple reaction mechanism of hydrogen evolution (HER), CO₂RR involves numerous electrons and protons and proceeds via cascading reaction steps. This complexity results in, in some cases, high electrical overpotentials for these reactions and a broad spectrum of product mixtures.

Alongside inorganic (metallic) and molecular catalysts, which are currently the subject of intensive international research, functionalised carbon materials represent a new, promising and particularly cost-effective class of catalysts. This class is characterised by a highly conductive carbon matrix in which nitrogen and/or metal ions are chemically integrated in variable compositions.

Initial results of this research have been published in the prestigious journal ACS Catalysis (Impact Factor 12.35). Link