Electrochemical CO2 reduction to ethylene by ultrathin CuO nanoplate arrays
Wei Liu, Pengbo Zhai, Aowen Li, Bo Wei, Kunpeng Si, Yi Wei, Xingguo Wang, Guangda Zhu, Qian Chen, Xiaokang Gu, Ruifeng Zhang, Wu Zhou, Yongji Gong
Abstract
Abstract Electrochemical reduction of CO 2 to multi-carbon fuels and chemical feedstocks is an appealing approach to mitigate excessive CO 2 emissions. However, the reported catalysts always show either a low Faradaic efficiency of the C 2+ product or poor long-term stability. Herein, we report a facile and scalable anodic corrosion method to synthesize oxygen-rich ultrathin CuO nanoplate arrays, which form Cu/Cu 2 O heterogeneous interfaces through self-evolution during electrocatalysis. The catalyst exhibits a high C 2 H 4 Faradaic efficiency of 84.5%, stable electrolysis for ~55 h in a flow cell using a neutral KCl electrolyte, and a full-cell ethylene energy efficiency of 27.6% at 200 mA cm −2 in a membrane electrode assembly electrolyzer. Mechanism analyses reveal that the stable nanostructures, stable Cu/Cu 2 O interfaces, and enhanced adsorption of the *OCCOH intermediate preserve selective and prolonged C 2 H 4 production. The robust and scalable produced catalyst coupled with mild electrolytic conditions facilitates the practical application of electrochemical CO 2 reduction.