New Methodology of Organic Electrochemical Synthesis - Fundamentals and Applications of Organic Electrochemistry - page 310

7.3 Application to C1 Chemistry
The concept of C1 chemistry is the synthesis of
various useful organic compounds through the
formation of carbon-carbon bonds using C1
compounds as a starting substrate or by the
introduction of various atoms to C1 compounds.
In the 1980s, related studies were carried out as
a national project, and recently C1 chemistry
has again attracted much attention in relation
to green sustainable chemistry.
A typical example of C1 chemistry, the fixation
of CO 2 , is a highly important subject. Since CO 2
is a final product of the combustion processes,
the reverse conversion and use of CO 2 are
highly important research subjects. However,
the reduction potential of CO 2 is very negative,
and hence the cathodic evolution of hydrogen
takes place as a competitive reaction, reducing
the current efficiency and product yield. The
cathodic reduction has therefore been
intensively studied using various cathode
materials. Among these materials, copper was
found to be most effective for the reduction of
CO 2 [15]. In order to increase efficiency,
cathodic reduction of CO 2 was carried out
under high pressure. Cathodic reduction of CO 2
provides formic acid, oxalic acid, methane and
so on ( Eq. 7.1 ).