MSGID: 1:317/3 642f9c75   
   PID: hpt/lnx 1.9.0-cur 2019-01-08   
   TID: hpt/lnx 1.9.0-cur 2019-01-08   
    Long-forgotten equation provides new tool for converting carbon dioxide   
      
      
     Date:   
         April 6, 2023   
     Source:   
         Cornell University   
     Summary:   
         To manage atmospheric carbon dioxide and convert the gas into a   
         useful product, scientists have dusted off an archaic -- now 120   
         years old - - electrochemical equation.   
      
      
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   FULL STORY   
   ==========================================================================   
   To manage atmospheric carbon dioxide and convert the gas into a useful   
   product, Cornell University scientists have dusted off an archaic --   
   now 120 years old - - electrochemical equation.   
      
      
   ==========================================================================   
   The calculation -- named the Cottrell equation for chemist Frederick   
   Gardner Cottrell, who developed it in 1903 -- can help today's researchers   
   understand the several reactions that carbon dioxide can take when   
   electrochemistry is applied and pulsed on a lab bench.   
      
   The electrochemical reduction of carbon dioxide presents an opportunity   
   to transform the gas from an environmental liability to a feedstock for   
   chemical products or as a medium to store renewable electricity in the   
   form of chemical bonds, as nature does.   
      
   Their work was published in the journal ACS Catalysis.   
      
   "For carbon dioxide, the better we understand the reaction pathways,   
   the better we can control the reaction -- which is what we want in the   
   long term," said lead author Rileigh Casebolt DiDomenico, a chemical   
   engineering doctoral student at Cornell under the supervision of   
   Prof. Tobias Hanrath.   
      
   "If we have better control over the reaction, then we can make what we   
   want, when we want to make it," DiDomenico said. "The Cottrell equation is   
   the tool that helps us to get there."  The equation enables a researcher   
   to identify and control experimental parameters to take carbon dioxide and   
   convert it into useful carbon products like ethylene, ethane or ethanol.   
      
   Many researchers today use advanced computational methods to provide   
   a detailed atomistic picture of processes at the catalyst surface, but   
   these methods often involve several nuanced assumptions, which complicate   
   direct comparison to experiments, said senior author Tobias Hanrath.   
      
   "The magnificence of this old equation is that there are very few   
   assumptions," Hanrath said. "If you put in experimental data, you get   
   a better sense of truth. It's an old classic. That's the part that   
   I thought was beautiful."  DiDomenico said: "Because it is older,   
   the Cottrell equation has been a forgotten technique. It's classic   
   electrochemistry. Just bringing it back to the forefront of people's minds   
   has been cool. And I think this equation will help other electrochemists   
   to study their own systems."  The research was supported by the National   
   Science Foundation, a Cornell Energy Systems Institute-Corning Graduate   
   Fellowship and the Cornell Engineering Learning Initiative.   
      
       * RELATED_TOPICS   
             o Matter_&_Energy   
                   # Organic_Chemistry # Energy_and_Resources # Chemistry #   
                   Inorganic_Chemistry   
             o Earth_&_Climate   
                   # Air_Quality # Global_Warming # Geochemistry # Climate   
       * RELATED_TERMS   
             o Carbon_dioxide o Carbon_monoxide o Fossil_fuel o   
             Forest o Ocean_acidification o Greenhouse_gas o Methane o   
             Carbon_dioxide_sink   
      
   ==========================================================================   
   Story Source: Materials provided by Cornell_University. Original written   
   by Blaine Friedlander, courtesy of the Cornell Chronicle. Note: Content   
   may be edited for style and length.   
      
      
   ==========================================================================   
   Journal Reference:   
      1. Rileigh Casebolt DiDomenico, Kelsey Levine, Laila Reimanis,   
      He'ctor D.   
      
         Abrun~a, Tobias Hanrath. Mechanistic Insights into the Formation   
         of CO and C2 Products in Electrochemical CO2 Reduction─The   
         Role of Sequential Charge Transfer and Chemical Reactions. ACS   
         Catalysis, 2023; 4938 DOI: 10.1021/acscatal.2c06043   
   ==========================================================================   
      
   Link to news story:   
   https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2023/04/230406130732.htm   
      
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