Turning CO₂ into Valuable Compounds: Birutė Serapinienė Defends Her PhD

On 24 October, another talented FTMC researcher was awarded a doctoral degree: Birutė Serapinienė from the Department of Chemical Engineering and Technology successfully defended her PhD thesis.

Her topic was “Electrocatalytic Activity of Cu Electrodes in Electroreduction of CO₂” (academic supervisor: Prof. Habil. Dr Rimantas Ramanauskas).

Congratulations to our colleague – and best wishes for continued success in her scientific career!

In her dissertation, Birutė examined ways to improve copper electrodes to enhance their efficiency in carbon dioxide (CO₂) reduction reactions. This reduction process is a promising method for “recycling” carbon dioxide – rather than releasing it into the atmosphere, it can be converted into useful products such as ethylene, ethanol, and propanol. These compounds are important to industry, as they are used in the production of plastics, fuels, and various chemicals.

This process requires electric current and a special catalyst to accelerate the chemical reactions. Simply put, when current flows through an electrode coated with a catalyst, CO₂ molecules break apart and rearrange into new, desired substances.

In her work, the FTMC researcher focused on improving copper electrodes – copper being one of the most suitable catalysts for CO₂ reduction.

“Climate change is a pressing issue for everyone. What fascinates me most is the idea that carbon dioxide produced from burning fuel could be reused to make new fuel – creating a man-made CO₂ cycle,” says Dr Serapinienė.

“I am particularly pleased with the results of my research into methods for measuring the electrochemically active surface area, which help in selecting the most appropriate approach for comparing electrodes.”

You can read the dissertation by following this link.

Info: FTMC