Bernhard Schmid

CO₂ Reduction

My doctoral work is conducted in the field of direct electrochemical reduction of CO₂. In this process CO₂ is directly electrochemically converted into energy rich chemical building blocks like ethene or carbon monoxide without using intermediary energy molecules such as H₂. Instead electrical energy from renewable sources can be directly used to upstream recycle CO₂ and to produce new chemical feedstock and potentially even fuels independent from fossil carbon sources.

For application an appreciable space time yield, energy efficiency and selectivity are essential. To be able to reach these goals fundamental research is conducted on the surface electro organic chemistry of Cu electrodes as well as the chemistry of the charge transport in CO₂ converting electrochemical cells. Despite its fundamental nature the research is conducted using modern gas diffusion electrode (GDE) and flow cell technology and under application relevant current densities of several kA/m^-2.