1 research outputs found
Subnanometer Cu Clusters on Porous Ag Enhancing Ethanol Production in Electrochemical CO<sub>2</sub> Reduction
Controlling
the electrochemical CO2 reduction process
for multicarbon production is challenging. Ethanol is typically produced
with lower selectivity compared to ethylene. In addition, ill-defined
catalytic active sites and elusive mechanisms of C–C coupling
further hinder the enhancement of ethanol generation. Here, we carefully
regulated the quantity of the Cu atoms and deposited them onto a Ag
inverse-opal structure (AgIOs) using the pulse-electrodeposition method.
Subnanometer Cu clusters demonstrated a 2.5 times higher Faradaic
efficiency for ethanol production compared to that for ethylene at
−1.05 V vs RHE. Conversely, as the size of Cu increased to
nanometers, ethylene became the dominant product. Excessive adsorption
of CO on Cu clusters, which migrates from the Ag surface, is attributed
to the improved ethanol production. Abundant Ag/Cu boundaries and
adjacent spacing between Ag and Cu clusters may enhance the surface
migration of CO. In contrast, the preferential site-selective CO adsorption
on large Cu nanoparticles is associated with solution-mediated CO
migration. Operando shell-isolated nanoparticle-enhanced
Raman spectroscopy (SHINERS) revealed a high coverage of the CO on
the Cu clusters. The initial intermediate *OCCOH by C–C coupling
appeared for both Cu clusters and nanoparticles. However, Cu clusters
accommodated more carbonaceous intermediates, highlighting the critical
role of CO and intermediate coverages on Cu in ethanol production