Atomic Layer Deposition of Cu Electrocatalysts on Gas Diffusion Electrodes for CO2 Reduction

Lenef, Julia D.; Lee, Si Young; Fuelling, Kalyn M.; Rivera Cruz, Kevin E.; Prajapati, Aditya; Delgado Cornejo, Daniel O.; Cho, Tae H.; Sun, Kai; Alvarado, Eugenio; Arthur, Timothy S.; Roberts, Charles A.; Hahn, Christopher; McCrory, Charles L.; Dasgupta, Neil P.

doi:10.1021/acs.nanolett.3c02917

Title: Atomic Layer Deposition of Cu Electrocatalysts on Gas Diffusion Electrodes for CO₂ Reduction

Journal Article · 20 November 2023 · Nano Letters

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.nanolett.3c02917 · OSTI ID:2280891

Lenef, Julia D. ^[1]; Lee, Si Young ^[1];

^[1];

^[1]; Prajapati, Aditya ^[2];

^[1]; Cho, Tae H. ^[1];

^[1]; Alvarado, Eugenio ^[1];

^[3];

^[2];

^[1];

^[1]

Univ. of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI (United States)
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL), Livermore, CA (United States)
Toyota Research Institute of North America, Ann Arbor, MI (United States)

Electrochemical reduction of CO₂ using Cu catalysts enables the synthesis of C₂₊ products including C₂H₄ and C₂H₅OH. Here, in this study, Cu catalysts were fabricated using plasma-enhanced atomic layer deposition (PEALD), achieving conformal deposition of catalysts throughout 3-D gas diffusion electrode (GDE) substrates while maintaining tunable control of Cu nanoparticle size and areal loading. The electrochemical CO₂ reduction at the Cu surface yielded a total Faradaic efficiency (FE) > 75% for C₂₊ products. Parasitic hydrogen evolution was minimized to a FE of ~10%, and a selectivity of 42.2% FE for C₂H₄ was demonstrated. Compared to a line-of-sight physical vapor deposition method, PEALD Cu catalysts show significant suppression of C₁ products compared to C₂₊, which is associated with improved control of catalyst morphology and conformality within the porous GDE substrate. Finally, PEALD Cu catalysts demonstrated a stable performance for 15 h with minimal reduction in the C₂H₄ production rate.

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Research Organization:: Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL), Livermore, CA (United States)

Sponsoring Organization:: USDOE National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA); USDOE Laboratory Directed Research and Development (LDRD) Program

Grant/Contract Number:: AC52-07NA27344

OSTI ID:: 2280891

Report Number(s):: LLNL--JRNL-852808; 1079311

Journal Information:: Nano Letters, Journal Name: Nano Letters Journal Issue: 23 Vol. 23; ISSN 1530-6984

Publisher:: American Chemical SocietyCopyright Statement

Country of Publication:: United States

Language:: English

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atomic layer deposition
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gas diffusion electrode
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Title: Atomic Layer Deposition of Cu Electrocatalysts on Gas Diffusion Electrodes for CO2 Reduction

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Title: Atomic Layer Deposition of Cu Electrocatalysts on Gas Diffusion Electrodes for CO₂ Reduction