Electrode-modified block copoly-ionic liquid boosting the CO2 reduction toward CO in water-based media

Abstract

Coupling polymer and ionic liquids with electrodes for catalysis is a promising tool for optimization of electrocatalytic CO₂ reduction reaction (CO₂RR). Here, block copolymer ionic liquids BCPILs were synthesized via controlled radical polymerization and nucleophilic post-substitution to introduce imidazole moieties. We show that, thanks to these PIL functionalities, the BCPIL/Re@HPC/GDL electrode can keep the selectivity toward CO when a higher amount of water is present in the electrolyte than the raw Re@HPC/GDL system. Our results help to understand the development of solid-state ionic liquids for enhanced CO₂RR in water-based electrolyte.