Abstract
Electrochemical CO reduction can avoid the carbonate-forming chemistry that limits alkaline CO2 electrolysis and can more readily form C2+ products. Here, we demonstrate that a catalyst layer derived from copper phthalocyanine mediates CO conversion effectively in a flow cell. A gas diffusion electrode coated with CuPc electrolyzed CO into C2+ products at industrially relevant current densities, reaching faradaic efficiencies for C2+ products above 70% at 200 mA cm–2. These findings reveal new strategies for using metal complexes to form carbon-neutral chemicals and fuels under practical operating conditions.