Executive Summary : | The increasing population around the globe is demanding the production of more energy (particularly electricity) to meet our improved standard of living and manufacture of more fertilizers (through energy intensive Haber-Bosch process) to satisfy the food requirement. As the present renewable energy share (~20%) is inadequate to fulfill the energy demand, we have to depend on fossil fuels that emit enormous amount of CO2, raising the atmospheric CO2 level by 50% (421 ppm) compared to pre-industrial era (280 ppm). Electrocatalysis has the potential to facilitate conversion between electrical and chemical energy in fuel cells (FCs) and electrolysis devices, generating value-added chemicals and fuels in a carbon-neutral pathway which, in turn, can reduce the consumption of fossil fuels significantly and save our environment. The electrocatalysts, needed to promote conversion, should be easy-to-make, highly stable, low-cost, abundant, and environment-friendly. Hence, we propose to synthesize naturally occurring amino acid (AA)-based or oligopeptide-based metal (3d only) complexes that can serve as multifunctional electrocatalysts for CO2, proton and O2 reduction in water medium with high efficiency and will not pose any environmental concerns. We plan to choose the AA or modulate the peptide structure in such a way that they can be used for reactive CO2 capture (RCC; integration of capture with conversion) which not only enhances the activity but also increases the energy efficiency of the overall conversion reaction. Standard electrochemical and spectroscopic techniques will be employed to evaluate the kinetic and thermodynamic parameters. In order to further improve the reactivity, detailed understanding of the reaction pathway is compulsory. Therefore, spectro-electrochemical experiments will be undertaken as it is valuable to generate an array of useful information on the intermediates and the rate-determining step(s) that assist to propose a detailed mechanism. Thorough and deeper understanding of reaction pathway is essential to develop better performing catalysts that will produce high energy density carbon-zero product, H2 and carbon-neutral value-added products like CO, HCOOH, CH3OH, etc. in a cheaper way which not only help controlling the climate change but also important for India’s economic growth. We envision that the contribution of sustainable catalysts towards multifunctional catalysis will be instrumental to FC technologies. |