The development of heterogeneous catalysts with a well-defined micro structure to promote their activity and stability for electrocatalyfic CO2 reduction has been shown to be a promising strategy. In this work, Cu nan...The development of heterogeneous catalysts with a well-defined micro structure to promote their activity and stability for electrocatalyfic CO2 reduction has been shown to be a promising strategy. In this work, Cu nanoparticles （- 4 nm in diameter） embedded in N-doped carbon （Cu@NC） arrays were fabricated by thermal decomposition of copper tetracyanoquinodimethane （CuTCNQ） under N2. Compared to polycrystalline copper electrodes, the Cu@NC arrays provide a significantly improved number of catalytically active sites. This resulted in a 0.7 V positive shift in onset potential, producing a catalytic current density an order magnitude larger at a potential of -2.7 V vs. Fc/Fc＋ （Fc = ferrocene） in dimethylformamide （DMF）. By controlling the water content in the DMF solvent, the CO2 reduction product distribution can be tuned. Under optimal conditions （0.5 vol.% water）, 64% HCOO^-, 20% CO, and 13% H2 were obtained. The Cu@NC arrays exhibited excellent catalytic stability with only a 0.5% decrease in the steady-state catalytic current during 6 h of electrolysis. The three-dimensional （3D） array structure of the Cu@NC was demonstrated to be effective for improving the catalytic activity of copper based catalysts while maintaining long-term catalytic stability.展开更多
文摘The development of heterogeneous catalysts with a well-defined micro structure to promote their activity and stability for electrocatalyfic CO2 reduction has been shown to be a promising strategy. In this work, Cu nanoparticles （- 4 nm in diameter） embedded in N-doped carbon （Cu@NC） arrays were fabricated by thermal decomposition of copper tetracyanoquinodimethane （CuTCNQ） under N2. Compared to polycrystalline copper electrodes, the Cu@NC arrays provide a significantly improved number of catalytically active sites. This resulted in a 0.7 V positive shift in onset potential, producing a catalytic current density an order magnitude larger at a potential of -2.7 V vs. Fc/Fc＋ （Fc = ferrocene） in dimethylformamide （DMF）. By controlling the water content in the DMF solvent, the CO2 reduction product distribution can be tuned. Under optimal conditions （0.5 vol.% water）, 64% HCOO^-, 20% CO, and 13% H2 were obtained. The Cu@NC arrays exhibited excellent catalytic stability with only a 0.5% decrease in the steady-state catalytic current during 6 h of electrolysis. The three-dimensional （3D） array structure of the Cu@NC was demonstrated to be effective for improving the catalytic activity of copper based catalysts while maintaining long-term catalytic stability.
