The electrocatalytic conversion of CO 2 using renewable energy could establish a climate-neutral, artificial carbon cycle. Excess energy produced by photovoltaics and wind energy could be stored through the electrocatalytic production of fuels from CO 2 . These could then be burned as needed. Conversion into liquid fuels would be advantageous because they have high energy density and are safe to store and transport. However, the electrocatalytic formation of products with two or more carbon atoms (C 2+ ) is very challenging. Now, researchers in China have developed a new electrocatalyst that yields ethanol, acetone, and n-butanol as major products with a total C 2-4 faradaic efficiency of about 49 % at −0.8 V vs. reversible hydrogen electrode (RHE), which can be maintained for at least 3 months. A paper on the development is published in the journal Angewandte Chemie . Credit: Angewandte Chemie To make the electrocatalyst, the […]