The process of electrochemical conversion of CO₂ to a valuable chemical requires the use of an electrode material with high selectivity and stability. In this study, we successfully fabricated a dental amalgam composition on a copper foam electrode and demonstrated the selective conversion of CO₂ to formate. The faradaic efficiency was 80–100 % at current densities ranging from 50 to 250 mA∙cm⁻². The residual electricity was used solely to produce H_2, and all the carbon atoms in CO₂ were converted to formate. It enabled the easy separation of the highly water-soluble formate from the gaseous hydrogen. The produced formate concentration was up to 2.4 M (18 wt%), and the electrolyzer based on the dental amalgam electrode was effectively operated both continuously and intermittently for over a month. The results demonstrated the feasibility of the economic and large-scale CO₂-to-formate conversion process.

CO ₂电化学转化为有价值的化学物质的过程需要使用具有高选择性和稳定性的电极材料。在这项研究中，我们成功地在泡沫铜电极上制造了牙科用汞合金组合物，并证明了CO ₂向甲酸酯的选择性转化。在50到250 mA∙cm ^-2的电流密度下，法拉第效率为80–100％。剩余电仅用于产生H _2， CO _2中的所有碳原子被转化为甲酸盐。它可以轻松地将高水溶性甲酸从气态氢中分离出来。产生的甲酸盐浓度高达2.4 M（18 wt％），并且基于牙科用汞齐电极的电解槽连续和间歇地有效运行了一个多月。结果证明了经济和大规模的CO ₂到甲酸酯转化工艺的可行性。