Electrocatalytic CO₂ Upgrading to Triethanolamine by Bromine‐Assisted C₂H₄ Oxidation

Abstract

The electrocatalytic carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) reduction is a promising approach for converting this greenhouse gas into value-added chemicals, while the capability of producing products with longer carbon chains (C n > 3) is limited. Herein, we demonstrate the Br-assisted electrocatalytic oxidation of ethylene (C 2 H 4 ), a major CO 2 electroreduction product, into 2-bromoethanol by electro-generated bromine on metal phthalocyanine catalysts. Due to the preferential formation of Br 2 over *O or Cl 2 to activate the C=C bond, a high partial current density of producing 2-bromoethanol (46.6 mA•cm À 2 ) was obtained with 87.2 % Faradaic efficiency. Further coupling with the electrocatalytic nitrite reduction to ammonia at the cathode allowed the production of triethanolamine with six carbon atoms. Moreover, by coupling a CO 2 electrolysis cell for in situ C 2 H 4 generation and a C 2 H 4 oxidation/nitrite reduction cell, the capability of upgrading of CO 2 and nitrite into triethanolamine was demonstrated.