Journal
SUSTAINABLE ENERGY & FUELS
Volume 6, Issue 21, Pages 4860-4865Publisher
ROYAL SOC CHEMISTRY
DOI: 10.1039/d2se01174c
Keywords
-
Funding
- Natural Science Foundation of China [21701100]
- Shandong Provincial Natural Science Foundation [ZR2020MB048]
- Young Innovative Talents Introduction & Cultivation Program for Colleges and Universities of Shandong Province (Department of Education of Shandong Province, Sub-Title: Innovative Research Team on Optoelectronic Functional Materials)
- Doctoral Startup Research Funding [2020BSZX01]
- Hundred Outstanding Talent Program of Jining University [2020ZYRC05]
Ask authors/readers for more resources
The study presents the fabrication of hollow Cu2O nanocrystals with defect-rich sites and abundant stepped facets for use as electrocatalysts in CO2RR, achieving remarkable faradaic efficiency and partial current density for C2+ products. Furthermore, the hollow Cu2O catalysts demonstrate the ability to generate n-propanol with high faradaic efficiency due to enhanced C-C coupling step for C3+ production.
Multicarbon (C2+) products are one of the most attractive carbon-based chemicals that can be manufactured through the CO2 electroreduction reaction (CO2RR), but they face challenges of low current density and poor selectivity due to unsatisfactory catalysts. Herein, we report the fabrication of hollow Cu2O nanocrystals with defect-rich sites and abundant stepped facets and the investigation of their applications as electrocatalysts in the CO2RR. In particular, the reduction of self-made Cu precursor, Cu-2(OAc)(4)(py)(2), at an elevated temperature, leads to the formation of polyhedral Cu nanoparticles in advance, followed by bubbling gaseous oxygen to proceed with in situ oxidative etching. Ascribed to structural advantages, a remarkable faradaic efficiency of 75.9% and partial current density of 0.54 A cm(-2) are actualized for C2+ products. Impressively, hollow Cu2O catalysts can generate n-propanol with faradaic efficiencies of up to 8.21% due to the boosted C-C coupling step for C3+ production. Density functional theory (DFT) calculations reveal that the high CO coverage and the high index planes of Cu2O can enhance the C-C coupling reaction. The current work offers an effective crystal engineering route to the rational design of CO2RR electrocatalysts with boosted electrochemical activity and selectivity of C2+ products.
Authors
I am an author on this paper
Click your name to claim this paper and add it to your profile.
Reviews
Recommended
No Data Available