CO2 electrolysis to pharmaceuticals

This project will involve using CO2 electrolysis to produce reactive intermediates that will react with pharmaceutical precursors to produce either paracetemol or aspirin.  It has been found that CO₂ electrolysis goes through an ethenone intermediate when producing products such as ethanol.  Ethenone is a well-known acetylation agent that is known to react with species in the electrolyte during CO2 electrolysis.  This proposal will employ CO2 electrolysis in electrolytes with high concentration of  pharmaceutical precursors, thus allowing us to produce more valuable paracetamol/aspirin instead of ethanol. To maximize precursor solubility we need to use non-aqueous electrolytes, which will add challenges towards CO2 electrolysis.  Thus  we will look to discover what is the optimal balance of conditions that allows for  both non-aqueous CO2 electrolysis and the acetylation reactions for producing paracetamol and aspirin.