Path to carbon dioxide-based chemicals smoothed with a dash of acid

The stability of the electrochemical reduction of carbon dioxide can be dramatically improved simply by adding a small amount of acid. This addresses a key stumbling block in the commercialisation of the reaction by dissolving the salts that block the reactor and rapidly lead to failure.

The electrochemical reduction of carbon dioxide is potentially a huge advance in green chemistry as it uses electricity to reduce carbon dioxide into important platform chemicals such as carbon monoxide and hydrocarbons. This could transform carbon positive syntheses into carbon negative ones.