Correlating the valence state of a Cu-based electrocatalyst for CO reduction to C

• Published in: Chemical communications (Cambridge, England) England), 2023-09, Vol.59 (78), p.11716-11719
• Main Authors: Li, Yifan, Hong, Wanqing, Chen, Shiyi, Duan, Rui, Chai, Sini, Du, Wenping, Yang, Jian, Mao, Junjie
• Format: Article
• ISSN: 1359-7345; 1364-548X
• DOI: 10.1039/d3cc03779g

In this study, a facile ligand-protected strategy for preparing Cu@Cu 2 O and CuO nanoparticles is presented. The electrocatalyst efficacy of the CuO variant, particularly for CO 2 reduction to multi-carbon products (C 2+ ), is significant, boasting faradaic efficiencies (FEs) surpassing 85% and a current density peak at 340 mA cm −2 . This exceptional performance markedly exceeds that of the Cu@Cu 2 O electrocatalyst. This observed enhancement in the electrosynthesis efficiency of C 2+ is attributed to the abundant Cu 0 active sites, which originate from the in situ electroreduction of CuO. We have successfully synthesized a type of CuO by calcination, which exhibits a Faraday efficiency (FE) of more than 85% for CO 2 reduction of the multi-carbon product (C 2+ ), at a current density of 340 mA cm −2 .