National University of Singapore researchers discover new ethanol production method from CO2

In Singapore, National University of Singapore scientists have discovered a new mechanism for selective electrochemical reduction of carbon dioxide (CO2) to ethanol using copper-silver (Cu-Ag) composite catalysts. Results show that an influx of CO molecules, provided by silver (Ag) co-catalysts, activates an otherwise-locked mechanistic pathway on Cu which converts CO2 gas to ethanol.

Further plans arising from this finding by the research team include maximizing the active sites through catalyst design and upscaled production using a high throughput flow cell configuration.