Skip to main content

Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles and JavaScript.

  • Comment
  • Published:

Complex behaviour of isotopes in CO2 electroreduction

Nature Catalysis volume 8, pages 513–517 (2025)Cite this article

Subjects

Isotope labelling with 13C-carbon has become a popular technique used to understand carbon dioxide electroreduction mechanisms. However, isotopes of carbon exhibit complex selectivity effects, which need to be carefully considered in the experimental design to avoid misinterpretations.

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution

Access options

Buy this article

  • Purchase on SpringerLink
  • Instant access to the full article PDF.

USD 39.95

Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout

Fig. 1: Kinetic isotope effects on electrochemical interfaces.
Fig. 2: Recommended experimental procedures for carbon labelling experiments.
Fig. 3: 13C discrimination effect in CO2R under high current density.

References

  1. Neubauer, C. et al. J. Am. Soc. Mass Spectr. 34, 525–537 (2023).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  2. Hernández, R. & Kalaji, M. J. Chem. Soc. Faraday Trans. 92, 3957–3962 (1996).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  3. Ma, H. et al. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 145, 24707–24716 (2023).

    CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  4. Wu, J. et al. Nat. Commun. 7, 13869 (2016).

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  5. Lum, Y. & Ager, J. W. Nat. Catal. 2, 86–93 (2019).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  6. Ren, H. et al. Nat. Catal. 5, 1169–1179 (2022).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  7. Hursán, D. & Janáky, C. ACS Energy Lett. 3, 722–723 (2018).

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  8. Fang, X. et al. Chem. Catal. 3, 100689 (2023).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  9. Zhang, J., Quay, P. D. & Wilbur, D. O. Geochim. Cosmochim. Acta 59, 107–114 (1995).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  10. Thode, H. G., Shima, M., Rees, C. E. & Krishnamurty, K. V. Can. J. Chem. 43, 582–595 (1965).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  11. Wanninkhof, R. & Tellus, B. Chem. Phys. Meteorol. 37, 128–135 (1985).

    Google Scholar 

  12. Chen, B. W. J. Catal. Commun. 177, 106654 (2023).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  13. Bennet, A. J. Curr. Opin. Chem. Biol. 16, 472–478 (2012).

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  14. Ma, M. et al. Energy Environ. Sci. 13, 977–985 (2020).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  15. Barecka, M. H. et al. iScience 26, 107834 (2023).

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  16. Li, H.-L., Ju, Y.-L., Li, L.-J. & Xu, D.-G. Chem. Eng. Process. 49, 255–261 (2010).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  17. Gomes, R. J. et al. J. Phys. Chem. C 126, 13595–13606 (2022).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  18. El-Nagar, G. A., Haun, F., Gupta, S., Stojkovikj, S. & Mayer, M. T. Nat. Commun. 14, 2062 (2023).

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  19. Yasuda, S. et al. ACS Nano 16, 14362–14369 (2022).

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  20. Hillaire-Marcel, C. et al. Nat. Rev. Earth. Environ. 2, 699–719 (2021).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

The author acknowledges Northeastern University’s start-up grant and A. J. Sanz Guillen for improving the paper’s visual content quality.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Chemical Engineering, Northeastern University, Boston, USA

    Magda H. Barecka

  2. Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, Northeastern University, Boston, USA

    Magda H. Barecka

Authors
  1. Magda H. Barecka
    View author publications

    Search author on:PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Magda H. Barecka.

Ethics declarations

Competing interests

The author of this manuscript is a co-inventor of a patent application US2024/0286078A1, which describes an electrochemical method for 13C carbon isotope separation, and a co-inventor on a patent on a new generation of electrochemical reactors US PRV 63/669,089. The author is a member of the advisory board of the journal iScience.

Peer review

Peer review information

Nature Catalysis thanks the anonymous reviewers for their contribution to the peer review of this work.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Barecka, M.H. Complex behaviour of isotopes in CO2 electroreduction. Nat Catal 8, 513–517 (2025). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41929-025-01360-3

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Version of record:

  • Issue date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41929-025-01360-3

Search

Advanced search

Quick links

Nature Briefing

Sign up for the Nature Briefing newsletter — what matters in science, free to your inbox daily.

Get the most important science stories of the day, free in your inbox. Sign up for Nature Briefing