Across the Board: Gabriele Centi on Decoupling Electrocatalytic Reactions to Electrify Chemical Production

Abstract

In this series of articles, the board members of ChemSusChem discuss recent research articles that they consider of exceptional quality and importance for sustainability. This entry features Prof. G. Centi, who discusses the decoupling of the electrocatalytic reactions to realize spatiotemporal separation of the anodic and cathodic processes using redox mediators. This solution allows to potentially overcome the limitations due to intermittency of renewable energy production, besides a series of other advantages such as an improved energy efficiency.

Keywords: electrocatalysis; electrolysis; redox mediators; spatiotemporal decoupling; water splitting.