Facile Carbon Fixation to Performic Acids by Water-Sealed Dielectric Barrier Discharge

Carbon fixation refers to the conversion of carbon dioxide (CO2) to organic materials, as commonly performed in nature through photosynthesis by plants and other autotrophic organisms. The creation of artificial carbon fixation processes is one of the greatest challenges for chemistry to solve the critical environmental issue concerning the reduction of CO2 emissions. We have developed an electricity-driven facile CO2 fixation process that yields performic acid, HCO2OH, from CO2 and water at neutral pH by dielectric barrier discharge with an input electric power conversion efficiency of currently 0.2-0.4%. This method offers a promising future technology for artificial carbon fixation on its own, and may also be scaled up in combination with e.g., the post-combustion CO2 capture and storage technology.