In a Nature paper published this month, the gold nanostructured microelectrodes (NMEs) developed in our group were shown to promote high levels of carbon dioxide reduction. These structures, composed of sharp gold nanoneedles, were originally developed for use as ultrasensitive biomolecular detectors (Nature Nano 2009, Nature Chemistry 2012, Nature Chemistry 2015). In the recent Nature paper showcasing a collaboration with the Sargent group, the sharp tips of the needles were shown to promote local high electric fields that concentrate electrolyte cations that facilitate CO2 reduction. This work was featured by Forbes.
