Carbon Capture

The research at the Carbon Capture group focuses on developing the field of electrochemical carbon capture for reducing the carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere and tackling the associated global warming and climate change problems. We study the reduction of CO₂ in capture liquids to high value chemicals in both fundamental and realistic conditions by using in-situ and operando characterization methods to understand the reaction mechanisms and the evolution of the electrocatalysts during the reaction.

Schematic picture of the group's research.

Carbon dioxide emissions and its subsequent accumulation in the atmosphere leads to a worsening of the global warming and climate change. Carbon capture technologies are a key component of CO₂ management, with the most common examples using absorbent solutions with capture agents to bind the CO₂ and release in a subsequent step in a purified stream. However, these methods are limited by the temperature swings needed for adsorption and desorption, rendering to low efficiencies. One alternative is to directly reduce the CO₂ in the capture liquids to high value chemicals by using electricity coming from renewable energies such as wind and solar energies. In order to optimize these technologies, the mechanisms of the reduction of the molecules formed after the carbon capture, such as bicarbonate from alkaline solutions, carbamates from amine capture agents, or adducts from ionic liquids, need to be understood, as well as the dynamic reconstruction processes of the used electrocatalysts under reaction conditions.

We will employ in-situ and operando characterization methods coupled to the electrochemical cell, like for example infrared and Raman spectroscopy and mass spectrometry to identify and quantify the reaction intermediates and products from the reduction of capture liquids. X-ray absorption spectroscopy and surface diffraction methods, together with inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) and electron microscopy techniques will be used to track the dynamic changes of the surface and the morphologies of the catalysts while the reaction is taking place. Operando measurements under realistic conditions of membrane electrode assemblies (MEA) built from the insights from fundamental studies will be carried out to obtain a complete picture of the electrochemical carbon capture processes that will help designing new electrocatalysts and electrochemical processes to advance this technology.