Photoelectrochemical CO2 Reduction toward Multicarbon Products with Silicon Nanowire Photocathodes Interfaced with Copper Nanoparticles

Roh, Inwhan; Yu, Sunmoon; Lin, Chung-Kuan; Louisia, Sheena; Cestellos-Blanco, Stefano; Yang, Peidong

doi:10.1021/jacs.2c03702

Title: Photoelectrochemical CO₂ Reduction toward Multicarbon Products with Silicon Nanowire Photocathodes Interfaced with Copper Nanoparticles

Journal Article · 26 April 2022 · Journal of the American Chemical Society

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1021/jacs.2c03702 · OSTI ID:1897482

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^[1]; Cestellos-Blanco, Stefano ^[2];

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Univ. of California, Berkeley, CA (United States); Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States)
Univ. of California, Berkeley, CA (United States)
Univ. of California, Berkeley, CA (United States); Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States); Kavli Energy NanoScience Institute, Berkeley, CA (United States)

The development of photoelectrochemical systems for converting CO₂ into chemical feedstocks offers an attractive strategy for clean energy storage by directly utilizing solar energy, but selectivity and stability for these systems have thus been limited. Here, we interface silicon nanowire (SiNW) photocathodes with a copper nanoparticle (CuNP) ensemble to drive efficient photoelectrochemical CO₂ conversion to multicarbon products. This integrated system enables CO₂-to-C₂H₄ conversion with faradaic efficiency approaching 25% and partial current densities above 2.5 mA/cm² at -0.50 V vs RHE, while the nanowire photocathodes deliver 350 mV of photovoltage under 1 sun illumination. Under 50 h of continual bias and illumination, CuNP/SiNW can sustain stable photoelectrochemical CO₂ reduction. In conclusion, these results demonstrate the nanowire/catalyst system as a powerful modular platform to achieve stable photoelectrochemical CO₂ reduction and the feasibility to facilitate complex reactions toward multicarbons using generated photocarriers.

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Research Organization:: Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States)

Sponsoring Organization:: USDOE Office of Science (SC), Basic Energy Sciences (BES); National Institutes of Health (NIH)

Grant/Contract Number:: AC02-05CH11231; SC0021266

OSTI ID:: 1897482

Journal Information:: Journal of the American Chemical Society, Journal Name: Journal of the American Chemical Society Journal Issue: 18 Vol. 144; ISSN 0002-7863

Publisher:: American Chemical Society (ACS)Copyright Statement

Country of Publication:: United States

Language:: English

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37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CHEMISTRY
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Title: Photoelectrochemical CO₂ Reduction toward Multicarbon Products with Silicon Nanowire Photocathodes Interfaced with Copper Nanoparticles