Solar reduction of carbon dioxide on copper-tin electrocatalysts with energy conversion efficiency near 20%

Gao, Jing; Li, Jun; Liu, Yuhang; Xia, Meng; Finfrock, Y. Zou; Zakeeruddin, Shaik Mohammed; Ren, Dan; Grätzel, Michael

doi:10.1038/s41467-022-33049-7

Title: Solar reduction of carbon dioxide on copper-tin electrocatalysts with energy conversion efficiency near 20%

Journal Article · 05 October 2022 · Nature Communications

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-022-33049-7 · OSTI ID:1891163

; Li, Jun; Liu, Yuhang; Xia, Meng; Finfrock, Y. Zou; Zakeeruddin, Shaik Mohammed;

;

Abstract Copper catalysts modified with tin have been demonstrated to be selective for the electroreduction of carbon dioxide to carbon monoxide. However, such catalysts require the precise control of tin loading amount. Here, we develop a copper/tin-oxide catalyst with dominant tin oxide surface being formed via a spontaneous exchange reaction between sputtered tin and copper oxide. Even though the surface of this catalyst is tin-rich, it achieves an excellent performance towards carbon monoxide production in a flow cell. This contrasts with copper/tin-oxide prepared via atomic layer deposition since it yields selectivity towards carbon monoxide only on a copper-rich surface. Mechanism studies reveal that the tin sites on the tin-rich copper/tin-oxide surface achieve a suitable binding with adsorbed carbon monoxide under the presence of copper. Powered by a triple-junction solar cell, the copper/tin-oxide based electrolyzer sets a new benchmark solar-to-chemical energy conversion efficiency of 19.9 percent with a Faradaic efficiency of 98.9 percent towards carbon monoxide under simulated standard air mass 1.5 global illumination.

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Research Organization:: Argonne National Laboratory (ANL), Argonne, IL (United States)

Sponsoring Organization:: Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA); USDOE; USDOE Office of Science (SC), Basic Energy Sciences (BES). Scientific User Facilities (SUF)

Grant/Contract Number:: AC02-06CH11357

OSTI ID:: 1891163

Journal Information:: Nature Communications, Journal Name: Nature Communications Journal Issue: 1 Vol. 13; ISSN 2041-1723

Publisher:: Nature Publishing GroupCopyright Statement

Country of Publication:: United Kingdom

Language:: English

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