Reducing carbon dioxide to products

1. A method for reducing carbon dioxide to one or more products, comprising:

(A) bubbling said carbon dioxide into a solution of an electrolyte and a catalyst in a divided electrochemical cell, wherein (i) said divided electrochemical cell comprises an anode in a first cell compartment and a cathode in a second cell compartment, (ii) said cathode reducing said carbon dioxide into carbon monoxide, and (iii) said catalyst is a homogeneous heterocyclic amine catalyst and said cathode is selected from the group consisting of Al, Au, Ag, Bi, C, Cd, Co, Cr, Cu, a Cu alloy, Ga, Hg, In, Mo, Nb, Ni, NiCo2O4, a Ni alloy, a Ni—Fe alloy, Pb, Rh, Sn, a Sn alloy, Ti, V, W, Zn, elgiloy, Nichrome, austenitic steel, duplex steel, ferritic steel, martensitic steel, stainless steel, degenerately doped p-Si, degenerately doped p-Si:As, degenerately doped p-Si:B, degenerately doped n-Si, degenerately doped n-Si:As, degenerately doped n-Si:B, and mixtures thereof;

(B) separating said carbon monoxide from said solution.

2. The method according to claim 1 , wherein said homogeneous heterocyclic amine catalyst is one or more of adenine, an amine containing sulfur, an amine containing oxygen, an azole, benzimidazole, a bipyridine, furan, an imidazole, an imidazole-related species with at least one five-member ring, an indole, methylimidazole, an oxazole, phenanthroline, pterin, pteridine, a pyridine, a pyridine-related species with at least one six-member ring, pyrrole, quinoline, and a thiazole.

3. The method according to claim 1 , wherein said electrolyte is at least one of Na2SO4, KHCO3, KCl, NaNO 3 , NaCl, NaF, NaClO 4 , KClO 4 , K 2 SiO 3 , CaCl 2 , a guanidinium cation, a H cation, an alkali metal cation, an ammonium cation, an alkylammonium cation, a halide ion, an alkyl amine, a borate, a carbonate, a guanidinium derivative, a nitrite, a nitrate, a phosphate, a polyphosphate, a perchlorate, a silicate, a sulfate, and a tetraalkyl ammonium salt.

4. The method according to claim 3 , further comprising:

introducing to said solution of said electrolyte at least one of a divalent cation including at least one of calcium, magnesium, or zinc.

5. The method according to claim 1 , wherein said manner in which said carbon dioxide is bubbled comprises:

bubbling said carbon dioxide to contact said cathode.

6. The method according to claim 1 , wherein said manner in which said carbon dioxide is bubbled comprises:

bubbling said carbon dioxide to avoid contact with said cathode.

7. The method according to claim 1 , wherein said solution has a pH between approximately 1 and approximately 8.

8. The method according to claim 1 , wherein said stainless steel includes at least one of SS 2205, SS 304, SS 316, and SS 321; and wherein said Sn alloy includes at least one of SnAg, SnPb, SnSb.

9. The method according to claim 1 , wherein said cathode is selected from the group consisting of Sn, SnAg, SnPb, SnSb and mixtures thereof.

10. The method according to claim 1 , wherein said catalyst includes quinoline.

11. The method according to claim 10 , wherein the catalyst has a concentration of 10 to 100 mM.

12. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the electrolyte includes KCl.

13. The method according to claim 12 , wherein the electrolyte has a concentration of 0.25 to 1M.

14. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the cathode has a potential of −1 to −1.4 volts vs SCE.

15. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the solution has a pH of 5 to 7.