Electroreduction of air‐level CO_(2) with high conversion efficiency

The electrochemical conversion of carbon dioxide(CO_(2))has been attracting increasingly research interest in the past decade,with the ultimate goal of utilizing electricity from renewable energy to realize carbon neutrality,as well as economic and energy benefits.Nonetheless,the capture and concentrating of CO_(2) cost a substantial portion of energy,while almost all the reported researches showed CO_(2) electroreduction under high concentrations of(typically pure)CO_(2) reactants,and only very few recent studies have investigated the capability of applying low CO_(2) concentrations(such as~10%in flue gases).In this work,we first demonstrated the electroreduction of 0.03%CO_(2)(in helium)in a homemade gas‐phase electrochemical electrolyzer,using a low‐cost copper(Cu)or nanoscale copper(nano‐Cu)catalyst.Mixed with steam,the gas‐phase CO_(2) was directly delivered onto the gas‐solid interface with the Cu catalyst and reduced to CO,without the need/constraint of being adsorbed by aqueous solution or alkaline electrolytes.By tuning the catalyst and experi‐mental parameters,the conversion efficiency of CO_(2) reached as high as~95%.Furthermore,we demonstrated the direct electroreduction of 0.04%CO_(2) from real air sample with an optimized conversion efficiency of~79%,suggesting a promising perspective of the electroreduction ap‐proach toward direct CO_(2) conversion.

Architecture,Key Technologies and Applications of Load Dispatching in China Power Grid

With the development of renewable energy and the changes in the characteristics of power grid,it is becoming increasingly difficult to balance power supply and demand in space and time.In addition,the requirement for improved dispatching capability of power grid is increasing.Therefore,the potential of flexible load dispatching should be realized,which can promote the large-scale consumption of renewable energy and the construction of new power grid.Based on the analysis of existing load dispatching studies and the differences in the characteristics of domestic and foreign load dispatchings,a technical architecture and several key technologies are proposed for load resources to participate in power grid dispatching under the new situation,i.e.,the autonomous collaborative control system of load dispatching.This system implements the multi-layer coordinated control of main,distribution and micro grids(load aggregators).Adjustable load resources are aggregated through an aggregator operation platform and connected with a dispatcher load regulator platform to realize real-time data interaction with dispatching agencies as well as the monitoring,con-trol,and marketing of aggregators.It supports the load resources to participate in network-wide dispatching optimization via continuous power adjustment.Several key technologies such as the control mode,load modeling,dispatching strategy,and safety protection are also elaborated.Through the closed-loop control of orderly charging piles and energy storage clusters in the North China Power Grid,the feasibility of the proposed architecture and key technologies is verified.This route has successively supported multiple adjustable load aggregators to partici-pate in the ancillary services market of North China Power Grid for peak-shaving.Finally,the technical challenges of load resources participating in power grid dispatching under the dual carbon goals are discussed and prospected.

Unraveling and tuning the linear correlation between CH_(4) and C_(2) production rates in CO_(2) electroreduction

Although many catalysts have been reported for the CO_(2)electroreduction to C_(1)or C_(2)chemicals,the insufficient understanding of fundamental correlations among different products still hinders the development of universal catalyst design strategies.Herein,we first discover that the surface*CO coverage is stable over a wide potential range and reveal a linear correlation between the partial current densities of CH_(4)and C_(2)products in this potential range,also supported by the theoretical kinetic analysis.Based on the mechanism that*CHO is the common intermediate in the formation of both CH_(4)(*CHO→CH4)and C_(1)(*CHO+*CO→C_(2)),we then unravel that this linear correlation is universal and the slope can be varied by tuning the surface*H or*CO coverage to promote the selectivity of CH_(4)or C_(2)products,respectively.As proofs-of-concept,using carbon-coated Cu particles,the surface*H coverage can be increased to enhance CH_(4)production,presenting a high CO_(2)-to-CH_(4)Faradaic efficiency(FE_(CH_(4))~52%)and an outstanding CH_(4)partial current density of-337 m A cm;.On the other hand,using an Agdoped Cu catalyst,the CO_(2)RR selectivity is switched to the C_(2)pathway,with a substantially promoted FE;of 79%and a high partial current density of-421 m A cm;.Our discovery of tuning intermediate coverages suggests a powerful catalyst design strategy for different CO_(2)electroreduction pathways.