Asymmetrical electrohydrogenation of CO<sub>2</sub> to ethanol with copper-gold heterojunctions.
basic_science · Level V
Where this comes from
- Record sourced from PubMed, PMID 36649419.
- Also identified by DOI 10.1073/pnas.2214175120 and PMC identifier 9942890.
- Licence recorded as CC BY-NC-ND.
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Abstract
Copper is distinctive in electrocatalyzing reduction of CO<sub>2</sub> into various energy-dense forms, but it often suffers from limited product selectivity including ethanol in competition 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<sup>-2</sup>. 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 CO<sub>2</sub> 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 CO<sub>2</sub> giving ethanol rather than ethylene.