How Perovskites and Copper Catalysts Could Transform Energy: Using Sunlight to Make Hydrocarbons from Carbon Dioxide
Background
Photoelectrochemistry is a subfield of chemistry that aims to use solar energy to drive chemical reactions for fuel production. It specifically addresses the challenge of producing hydrocarbons like ethane and ethylene directly from photoelectrochemistry or PEC systems. Conventional PEC systems struggle to produce hydrocarbons due to high catalytic overpotentials or the extra energy needed to drive reactions and insufficient photovoltage or energy provided by the semiconductor when illuminated.
Nevertheless, as a suggested workaround, researchers V. Andrei et al. demonstrated hydrocarbon synthesis using lead halide perovskite photoabsorbers that were combined with copper nanoflower electrocatalysts. They essentially developed an artificial leaf that replicates photosynthesis to produce ethane and ethylene. This PEC system allows the generation of ethane and ethylene at zero voltage or without needing external voltage. The setup is considered more efficient than traditional PEC systems.
Key Findings
The proposed PEC system consists of three main components. The first is the perovskite-based light absorber or photoabsorber. This is considered a high-efficiency solar cell material. The second is a copper nanoflower metal catalyst that enables multi-carbon hydrocarbon formation from carbon dioxide. The third are silicon nanowire electrodes. These replace the traditional water-splitting process by oxidizing glycerol instead to make the reaction more efficient.
Findings revealed that the system achieved a 9.8 percent Faradaic yield toward ethane and ethylene production. The surface area of the catalyst and the perovskite affects product selectivity. This suggests that the local current density or the amount of charge flowing through a given area plays a role in determining which chemicals are produced.
The system is 200 times more effective than previous artificial leaf systems for splitting water and carbon dioxide. Furthermore, instead of using the standard water oxidation reaction, which is thermodynamically challenging, the use of silicon nanowire photoanodes for glycerol oxidation makes it more efficient. Note that glycerol is usually considered a waste. It is repurposed to boost reaction rates and produce useful byproducts like glycerate, lactate, and formate.
Implications
The researchers establishes perovskite semiconductors as a promising material for multi-carbon hydrocarbon production using solar energy. This expands their potential beyond traditional solar cells. Their proposed PEC system brings PEC technology closer to solar-driven hydrocarbon fuel synthesis. This is an important step toward achieving clean and renewable energy production. It also highlights the importance of catalyst design and reaction conditions in determining product yield and selectivity.
Note that the current hydrocarbon selectivity is around 10 percent. The team of V. Andrei et al. is working to optimize catalyst design for greater efficiency. The researchers believe their PEC system could be expanded and applied to more complex organic reactions. Hence, aside from clean energy production based on the replication of photosynthesis, their system can open doors to sustainable chemical production. Their long-term goal is to help transition towards a circular and carbon-neutral economy.
FURTHER READING AND REFERENCE
- Andrei, V., Roh, I., Lin, J. A., Lee, J., Shan, Y., Lin, C.-K., Shelton, S., Reisner, E., and Yang, P. 2025. Perovskite-Driven Solar C2 Hydrocarbon Synthesis from CO2. In Nature Catalysis. Springer Nature Limited. DOI: 1038/s41929-025-01292-y
- Andrei, V., Roh, I., Lin, J.-A., Lee, J., Shan, Y., Lin, C.-K., Shelton, S., Reisner, E., and Yang, P. 2025. “Dataset for Perovskite-Driven Solar C2 Hydrocarbon Synthesis From CO2.” Apollo – University of Cambridge Repository. DOI: 17863/CAM.114522