High-Rate CO2 Electroreduction to C2+ Products over a Copper-Copper Iodide Catalyst

Electrochemical CO2 reduction reaction (CO2RR) to multicarbon hydrocarbon and oxygenate (C2+) products with high energy density and wide availability is of great importance, as it provides a promising way to achieve the renewable energy storage and close the carbon cycle. Herein we design a Cu-CuI composite catalyst with abundant Cu-0/Cu+ interfaces by physically mixing Cu nanoparticles and CuI powders. The composite catalyst achieves a remarkable C2+ partial current density of 591 mA cm(-2) at -1.0 V vs. reversible hydrogen electrode in a flow cell, substantially higher than Cu (329 mA cm(-2)) and CuI (96 mA cm(-2)) counterparts. Induced by alkaline electrolyte and applied potential, the Cu-CuI composite catalyst undergoes significant reconstruction under CO2RR conditions. The high-rate C2+ production over Cu-CuI is ascribed to the presence of residual Cu+ and adsorbed iodine species which improve CO adsorption and facilitate C-C coupling.

Automated summary

The study successfully designed a Cu-CuI composite catalyst that achieves high-efficiency production of C2+ products.