Electrochemical reduction of CO2 to CO over Zn in propylene carbonate/tetrabutylammonium perchlorate

Developing low cost and high efficient electrode for carbon dioxide (CO2) reduction in organic media is essential for practical application. Zn is a cheap metal and has high catalytic effects on CO2 reduction to carbon monoxide (CO) in aqueous solution. However, little attention has been given to in...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of power sources 2018-02, Vol.378, p.555-561
Main Authors: Shen, Feng-xia, Shi, Jin, Chen, Tian-you, Shi, Feng, Li, Qing-yuan, Zhen, Jian-zheng, Li, Yun-fei, Dai, Yong-nian, Yang, Bin, Qu, Tao
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
CO2 reduction
Organic media
X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy
Zn electrode
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Summary:Developing low cost and high efficient electrode for carbon dioxide (CO2) reduction in organic media is essential for practical application. Zn is a cheap metal and has high catalytic effects on CO2 reduction to carbon monoxide (CO) in aqueous solution. However, little attention has been given to investigate the performance of Zn in organic media for CO2 reduction. In present work, we have conducted CO2 reduction in propylene carbonate/tetrabutylammonium perchlorate on Zn due to that propylene carbonate is a widely used industrial absorber, and tetrabutylammonium perchlorate is a commonly used organic supporting electrolyte. In addition, because electrochemical reduction of CO2 to CO naturally produces H2O, we have discussed water effects on CO2 reduction in propylene carbonate/tetrabutylammonium perchlorate+6.8 wt % H2O. Our experiment results reveal that the faradaic efficiency for CO formation reaches to 83%, and the current density remains stable at 6.72 mA/cm2 at voltage −2.3 V for 4 h. Interestingly, Zn presents higher catalytic activity than Ag, and slightly lower than Au. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy results confirm that no poisonous species is formed and absorbed on the cathode, which is an important advantage in practical application. •Developing low cost electrode is very crucial for industrial application.•Zn has been studied as the cathode for CO2 reduction to CO in this work.•PC/TBAP has been selected as the most suitable media due to its unique properties.•It was found that Zn exhibits high efficiency for CO2 reduction in PC/TBAP.
ISSN:0378-7753
1873-2755
DOI:10.1016/j.jpowsour.2017.12.078