Abstract
Copper is distinctive in electrocatalyzing reduction of CO2 into various energy-dense forms, but it often suffers from limited product selectivity including ethanol in competi-tion with ethylene. Here, we describe systematically designed, bimetallic electrocatalysts based on copper/gold heterojunctions with a faradaic efficiency toward ethanol of 60% at currents in excess of 500 mA cm−2. In the modified catalyst, the ratio of ethanol to ethylene is enhanced by a factor of 200 compared to copper catalysts. Analysis by ATR-IR measurements under operating conditions, and by computational simulations, suggests that reduction of CO2 at the copper/gold heterojunction is dominated by generation of the intermediate OCCOH*. The latter is a key contributor in the overall, asymmetrical electrohydrogenation of CO2 giving ethanol rather than ethylene
Original language | English |
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Article number | e2214175120 |
Number of pages | 6 |
Journal | Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America (PNAS) |
Volume | 120 |
Issue number | 4 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - 17 Jan 2023 |
Keywords
- copper
- ethanol
- heterojunction
- CO2
- hydrogenation
- CO