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Exploration of the bio-analogous asymmetric C–C coupling mechanism in tandem CO2 electroreduction

Journal Article · · Nature Catalysis
 [1];  [2];  [3];  [1];  [3];  [3];  [2];  [4];  [2];  [5]
  1. University of California, Berkeley, CA (United States); Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States)
  2. Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States); University of California, Berkeley, CA (United States)
  3. University of California, Berkeley, CA (United States)
  4. University of California, Berkeley, CA (United States); Kavli Energy NanoScience Institute, Berkeley, CA (United States)
  5. University of California, Berkeley, CA (United States); Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States); Kavli Energy NanoScience Institute, Berkeley, CA (United States)

C–C coupling is a critical step of CO2 fixation in constructing the carbon skeleton of value-added multicarbon products. The Wood–Ljungdahl pathway is an efficient natural process through which microbes transform CO2 into methyl and carbonyl groups and subsequently couple them together. This asymmetric coupling mechanism remains largely unexplored in inorganic CO2 electroreduction. Here we experimentally validate the asymmetric coupling pathway through isotope-labelled co-reduction experiments on a Cu surface where 13CH3I and 12CO are co-fed externally as the methyl and the carbonyl source, respectively. Isotope-labelled multicarbon oxygenates were detected, which confirms an electrocatalytic asymmetric coupling on the Cu surface. We further employed tandem Cu–Ag nanoparticle systems in which *CHx and *CO intermediates can be generated to achieve asymmetric C–C coupling for a practical CO2 electroreduction. We found that the production of multicarbon oxygenates is correlated with the generation rate of two intermediate indicators, CH4 and CO. By aligning their rates, the oxygenates generation rate can be maximized.

Research Organization:
Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States)
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE Office of Science (SC), Basic Energy Sciences (BES). Chemical Sciences, Geosciences & Biosciences Division (CSGB); National Science Foundation (NSF); National Institutes of Health (NIH)
Grant/Contract Number:
AC02-05CH11231
OSTI ID:
2326199
Journal Information:
Nature Catalysis, Journal Name: Nature Catalysis Journal Issue: 10 Vol. 5; ISSN 2520-1158
Publisher:
Springer NatureCopyright Statement
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English

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