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Title: Activity and Selectivity Control in CO 2 Electroreduction to Multicarbon Products over CuO x Catalysts via Electrolyte Design

Journal Article · · ACS Catalysis
ORCiD logo [1];  [2];  [3];  [4];  [4];  [5];  [6];  [3]; ORCiD logo [4]
  1. Max Planck Society, Berlin (Germany). Fritz-Haber Inst., Dept. of Interface Science; Ruhr-Univ., Bochum (Germany). Dept. of Physics
  2. Pennsylvania State Univ., University Park, PA (United States). Dept. of Chemical Engineering
  3. ennsylvania State Univ., University Park, PA (United States). Dept. of Chemical Engineering
  4. Max Planck Society, Berlin (Germany). Fritz-Haber Inst., Dept. of Interface Science; Ruhr-Univ., Bochum (Germany). Dept. of Physics
  5. Columbia Univ., New York, NY (United States). Dept. of Chemical Engineering
  6. Columbia Univ., New York, NY (United States). Dept. of Chemical Engineering; Brookhaven National Lab. (BNL), Upton, NY (United States). Chemistry Dept.

The CO2 electroreduction reaction (CO2RR) to chemicals and fuels is of both fundamental and practical significance, since it would lead to a more efficient storage of renewable energy while closing the carbon cycle. Here we report enhanced activity and selectivity for the CO2RR to multicarbon hydrocarbons and alcohols (~69% Faradaic efficiency and -45.5 mA cm–2 partial current density for C2+ at -1.0 V vs RHE) over O2-plasma-activated Cu catalysts via electrolyte design. Increasing the size of the alkali-metal cations in the electrolyte, in combination with the presence of subsurface oxygen species which favor their adsorption, significantly improved C–C coupling on CuOx electrodes. The coexistence of Cs+ and I induced drastic restructuring of the CuOx surface, the formation of shaped particles containing stable CuI species, and a more favorable stabilization of the reaction intermediates and concomitant high C2+ selectivity. This work, combining both experiment and density functional theory, provides insights into the active sites and reaction mechanism of oxide-derived Cu catalysts for the CO2RR.

Research Organization:
Brookhaven National Lab. (BNL), Upton, NY (United States)
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE Office of Science (SC), Basic Energy Sciences (BES)
Grant/Contract Number:
SC0012704
OSTI ID:
1484885
Report Number(s):
BNL-209655-2018-JAAM
Journal Information:
ACS Catalysis, Vol. 8, Issue 11; ISSN 2155-5435
Publisher:
American Chemical Society (ACS)Copyright Statement
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English
Citation Metrics:
Cited by: 117 works
Citation information provided by
Web of Science

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Rational catalyst and electrolyte design for CO2 electroreduction towards multicarbon products journal March 2019
Resolving the chemical identity of H 2 SO 4 derived anions on Pt(111) electrodes: they're sulfate journal January 2019
Atomically dispersed asymmetric Cu–B pair on 2D carbon nitride synergistically boosts the conversion of CO into C 2 products journal January 2020
Theory and experiments join forces to characterize the electrocatalytic interface journal March 2019
Ab Initio Cyclic Voltammetry on Cu(111), Cu(100) and Cu(110) in Acidic, Neutral and Alkaline Solutions journal September 2019
Zn-Doped Cu(100) facet with efficient catalytic ability for the CO 2 electroreduction to ethylene journal January 2019
Engineering Electronic Structure of Stannous Sulfide by Amino‐Functionalized Carbon: Toward Efficient Electrocatalytic Reduction of CO 2 to Formate journal January 2020
Selective CO 2 Electroreduction to Ethylene and Multicarbon Alcohols via Electrolyte‐Driven Nanostructuring journal November 2019
Selective CO 2 Electroreduction to Ethylene and Multicarbon Alcohols via Electrolyte‐Driven Nanostructuring journal November 2019
On the Oxidation State of Cu 2 O upon Electrochemical CO 2 Reduction: An XPS Study journal July 2019
Selective CO 2 electroreduction over an oxide-derived gallium catalyst journal January 2018
Selective $CO_{2}$ Electroreduction to Ethylene and Multicarbon Alcohols via Electrolyte-Driven Nanostructuring text January 2019