Hydrocarbon and oxygenate fuels have a significantly higher energy-density by volume than hydrogen and are more easily incorporated into the existing energy infrastructure. A primary goal for solar and electro-fuels researchers is therefore to combine water-splitting with carbon dioxide reduction to produce hydrocarbons and liquid fuels. A major challenge in this area is to achieve a high product selectivity for the desired chemical species while minimizing the required electrical bias. Efforts at the Conn Center are focused on investigating and controlling the heterogeneously catalyzed carbon dioxide reduction reaction to drive the formation of specific products. This work includes the study of new catalysts, the effects of catalyst surface sites and arrangement, and the use of functional solvents to concentrate CO₂ from dilute sources for integrated capture and conversion. Carbon dioxide reduction catalysts are also incorporated into photoelectrochemical systems for the solar-driven synthesis of carbonaceous fuels and products. Current work involves the development of a dual methanol/water electrolyte flow cell reactor for the reduction of carbon dioxide to novel products not produced in strictly aqueous systems.

In addition, the Conn Center is part of a Department of Energy (DOE) Energy Frontier Research Center (EFRC) called the Center for Closing the Carbon Cycle (4C). Our work in 4C aims to understand fundamental aspects of reactive carbon capture in ionic liquid based solvents as a pathway to efficient integrated capture and conversion from real-world dilute CO₂ sources like flue gas or air.