Journal Article

Efficient amino-acid-based reactive capture of CO 2 via nickel molecular catalyst

Lu, Ying-Rui, Foroozan, Amir, Xiao, Yurou Celine, Liu, Jieyuan, Papangelakis, Panagiotis, Azimi Dijvejin, Zahra, Sun, Siyu Sonia, Guo, Zunmin, Wang, Cai, Shayesteh Zeraati, Ali, Liu, Shijie, Wang, Yong, Sinton, David, Wang, Qiyou, Corbett, Paul, Higgins, Drew, Fan, Mengyang, Li, Feng, Hung, Sung-Fu, Han, Kai, Liu, Min, Li, Yuke, Che, Yuxuan, Peng, Kang-Shun, Miao, Rui Kai, Liu, Yu-Cheng

2025

Overview

Reactive capture integrates CO capture and electrochemical conversion into CO - a key building block in the synthesis of industrial chemicals and fuels - avoiding costly regeneration steps and improving efficiency. Amino acid salt solutions, which offer rapid CO capture, facile CO release, O tolerance, and low toxicity, are promising sorbents for reactive capture. However, we find that amino acids can adsorb to common CO-producing catalysts, covering the active sites and deactivating the catalyst, and that they bind less to nickel phthalocyanine (NiPc). Still, when tested for reactive capture systems - where CO supply is inherently limited - NiPc's performance is constrained by its weak CO adsorption and activation. Here we develop a nickel molecular catalyst supported on carbon nanotubes with a conjugated NiPc framework that resists amino acid adsorption and a coordinatively unsaturated Ni-N structure that promotes CO adsorption and enhances CO selectivity. As a result, we achieve 94% CO Faradaic efficiency at 100 mA cm with an energy efficiency of 42% and an energy cost of 25 GJ t .