Cu2Sb decorated Cu nanowire arrays for selective electrocatalytic CO2 to CO conversion
Shiyong Mou, Yonghao Li, Luchao Yue, Jie Liang, Yonglan Luo, Qian Liu, Tingshuai Li, Siyu Lu, Abdullah M. Asiri, Xiaoli Xiong, Dongwei Ma, Xuping Sun
Abstract
The advancement of cost-effective and selective electrocatalyst towards CO2 to CO conversion is crucial for renewable energy conversion and storage, thus to achieve carbon-neutral cycle in a sustainable manner. In this communication, we report that Cu2Sb decorated Cu nanowire arrays on Cu foil act as a highly active and selective electrocatalyst for CO2 to CO conversion. In CO2-saturated 0.1 M KHCO3, it achieves a high Faraday efficiency (FE) of 86.5% for CO, at −0.90 V vs. reversible hydrogen electrode (RHE). The H2/CO ratio is tunable from 0.08:1 to 5.9:1 by adjusting the potential. It is worth noting that HCOO− product was totally suppressed on such catalyst, compared with Sb counterpart. The improving selectivity for CO could be attributed to the bimetallic effect and nanowire arrays structure.