Copper-indium hydroxides derived electrocatalysts with tunable compositions for electrochemical CO_(2) reduction

Bimetallic Cu-In hybrid electrocatalysts are promising noble metal-free catalysts for selective electrochemical CO_(2) reduction reaction(ECO_(2) RR).Most reports show Cu-In catalysts are selective towards CO evolutio n.However,few show similarly high selectivity towards formate.Herein we fabricated composition tunable Cu-In hydroxides(Cu_xIn_y-OH) by the hydrothermal method and studied their composition effect on electrochemical CO_(2) reduction in detail. We found that the selectivity of CO_(2) reduction products shifted from CO to formate when the content of In increased in the Cu_xIn_y-OH electrocatalysts.The Cu rich electrocatalyst mostly produced CO,which could achieve a Faradaic efficiency(FE) to 75.8% at-0.59 V vs.RHE(Cu_(76)In_(24)based electrocatalysts).In comparison,the In rich electrocatalysts selectively produced formate,which possessed the FE of formate up to 85% at-1.01 V vs.RHE.Our work systematically illustrates the composition effect on hybrid catalysts,and provides insights into the design of highly selective catalysts for ECO_(2) RR.

Availability of elements for heterogeneous catalysis: Predicting the industrial viability of novel catalysts

Growing concern regarding the sustainability of the chemical industry has driven the developmentof more efficient catalytic reactions.First‐generation estimates of catalyst viability are based oncrustal abundance,which has severe limitations.Herein,we propose a second‐generation approachto predicting the viability of novel catalysts prior to industrial implementation to benefit the globalchemical industry.Using this prediction,we found that a correlation exists between catalyst consumptionand the annual production or price of the catalyst element for11representative industrialcatalytic processes.Based on this correlation,we have introduced two new descriptors for catalystviability,namely,catalyst consumption to availability ratio per annum(CCA)and consumed catalystcost to product value ratio per annum(CCP).Based on evaluations of CCA and CCP for selected industrial reactions,we have grouped catalysts from the case studies according to viability,allowing the identification of general limits of viability based on CCA and CCP.Calculating the CCA and CCP and their comparing with the general limits of viability provides researchers with a novel framework for evaluating whether the cost or physical availability of a new catalyst could be limiting.We have extended this analysis to calculate the predicted limits of economically viable production and product cost for new catalysts.?2018,Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics,Chinese Academy of Sciences.Published by Elsevier B.V.All rights reserved.