The presence and role of the intermediary CO reservoir in heterogeneous electroreduction of CO<sub>2</sub>.
basic_science · Level V
Where this comes from
- Record sourced from PubMed, PMID 35486696.
- Also identified by DOI 10.1073/pnas.2201922119 and PMC identifier 9171356.
- Licence recorded as CC BY-NC-ND.
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Abstract
SignificanceThe electroconversion of CO<sub>2</sub> to value-added products is a promising path to sustainable fuels and chemicals. However, the microenvironment that is created during CO<sub>2</sub> electroreduction near the surface of heterogeneous Cu electrocatalysts remains unknown. Its understanding can lead to the development of ways to improve activity and selectivity toward multicarbon products. This work introduces a method called on-stream substitution of reactant isotope that provides quantitative information of the CO intermediate species present on Cu surfaces during electrolysis. An intermediary CO reservoir that contains more CO molecules than typically expected in a surface adsorbed configuration was identified. Its size was shown to be a factor closely associated with the formation of multicarbon products.