Combining Nanoconfinement in Ag Core/Porous Cu Shell Nanoparticles with Gas Diffusion Electrodes for Improved Electrocatalytic Carbon Dioxide Reduction
João R. C. Junqueira, Peter B. O’Mara, Patrick Wilde, Stefan Dieckhöfer, Tânia M. Benedetti, Corina Andronescu, Richard D. Tilley, J. Justin Gooding, Wolfgang Schuhmann
Abstract
Abstract Bimetallic silver‐copper electrocatalysts are promising materials for electrochemical CO 2 reduction reaction (CO 2 RR) to fuels and multi‐carbon molecules. Here, we combine Ag core/porous Cu shell particles, which entrap reaction intermediates and thus facilitate the formation of C 2+ products at low overpotentials, with gas diffusion electrodes (GDE). Mass transport plays a crucial role in the product selectivity in CO 2 RR. Conventional H‐cell configurations suffer from limited CO 2 diffusion to the reaction zone, thus decreasing the rate of the CO 2 RR. In contrast, in the case of GDE‐based cells, the CO 2 RR takes place under enhanced mass transport conditions. Hence, investigation of the Ag core/porous Cu shell particles at the same potentials under different mass transport regimes reveals: (i) a variation of product distribution including C 3 products, and (ii) a significant change in the local OH ‐ activity under operation.