CO2 reduction to acetate in mixtures of ultrasmall (Cu)(n),(Ag)(m) bimetallic nanoparticles

Monodispersed mixtures of 6-nm Cu and Ag nanopartides were prepared by electrochemical reduction on electrochemically polymerized po/y-Fe(vbpy)(3)(PF6)(2) film electrodes on glassy carbon. Conversion of the complex to po/y-Fe(vbpy)(2)(CN)(2) followed by surface binding of salts of the cations and electrochemical reduction gave a mixture of chemically distinct clusters on the surface, (Cu)(m),(Ag)(n)vertical bar polymer vertical bar glassy carbon electrode (GCE), as shown by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) measurements. A (Cu)(2), (Ag)(3)vertical bar(80-monolayer-po/y-Fe(vbpy)(3)(2+)vertical bar GCE electrode at -1.33 V vs. Reversible hydrogen electrode (RHE) in 0.5 M KHCO3, with 8 ppm added benzotriazole (BTA) at 0 degrees C, gave acetate with a faradaic efficiency of 21.2%.