Eco‐friendly synthesis of cobalt phthalocyanine for high‐efficiency CO2 electroreduction

We report a sustainable and cost-effective synthesis of cobalt phthalocyanine (CoPc) using low-impact solvents and a streamlined purification procedure, achieving an 85% yield with limited waste generation, as indicated by an environmental factor (E-factor) of 18.6. This route provides an eco-friendly approach to producing a molecular electrocatalyst for CO2 reduction. The catalytic activity of the synthesized CoPc is validated by its integration into a gas diffusion electrode with carbon nanotube supports, exhibiting methanol production with a Faradaic efficiency up to 12%, matching the values reached with the conventionally synthesized counterparts. Notably, under high loading (micrometric crystallites of CoPc), CO2 -to-CO conversion reached 65%, in fair alignment with literature benchmarks. Our work shows that green synthesis can yield high-performance catalysts for CO2 electrochemical reduction (CO2RR), enabling sustainable methanol production.