CO₂ reduction with coin catalyst

Most organic commodity chemicals are derived from fossil carbon resources. The dependency is so immense that it is difficult to compensate for the accompanying carbon footprint with current technology and chemical infrastructure. To mitigate the future fossil fuel usage, it is crucial to explore alternative chemical pathways, which are both sustainable and suitable for large-scale productions. Here we demonstrate a closed-loop carbon-neutral chemical route, using standard coin catalyst, to produce high concentrated formate and formic acid. The catalyst’s Faradaic efficiency (FE) of formate is ~ 95.3% with great durability. The chemicals are not only synthesized but also purified and utilized in zero-carbon scenarios. We successfully harvested 45% formate salt and 86.2% formic acid, for applications like anti-freezing reagent and green liquid fuel to power the fuel-cell vehicles.