Roles of copper(I) in water-promoted CO2 electrolysis to multi-carbon compounds
The membrane electrode assembly (MEA) is promising for practical applications of the electrocatalytic CO<sub>2</sub> reduction reaction (CO<sub>2</sub>RR) to multi-carbon (C<sub>2+</sub>) compounds. Water management is crucial in the MEA electrolyser without catholyte, but few studies have clarified whether the co-feeding water in cathode can enhance C<sub>2+</sub> formation. Here, we report our discovery of pivotal roles of a suitable nanocomposite electrocatalyst with abundant Cu<sub>2</sub>O-Cu<sup>0</sup> interfaces in accomplishing water-promoting effect on C<sub>2+</sub> formation, achieving a current density of 1.0 A cm<sup>-2</sup> and a 19% single-pass C<sub>2+</sub> yield at 80% C<sub>2+</sub> Faradaic efficiency in MEA. The operando characterizations confirm the co-existence of Cu<sup>+</sup> with Cu<sup>0</sup> during CO<sub>2</sub>RR at ampere-level current densities. Our studies reveal that Cu<sup>+</sup> works for water activation and aids C‒C coupling by enhancing formations of adsorbed CO and CHO species. This work offers a strategy to boost CO<sub>2</sub>RR to C<sub>2+</sub> compounds in industrial-relevant MEA by combining water management and electrocatalyst design.
Authors
- Jun Cheng (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6971-0797)
- Xiaoyang He (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8651-0145)
- Shunji Xie (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5324-8638)
- Bingbao Mei (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4195-7151)
- Zheng Rong Jiang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4297-464X)
- Xiang-Ying Li (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9905-2684)
- Fanfei Sun (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2621-160X)
- Minzhi Zhu
- Lin Li (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0426-6546)
- Qinghong Zhang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6603-7656)
- Ye Wang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0764-2279)
Institutions
- Xiamen University (CN)
- Chinese Academy of Sciences (CN)
- Shanghai Advanced Research Institute (CN)
- National Synchrotron Radiation Laboratory (CN)
- Tan Kah Kee Innovation Laboratory (CN)
- Collaborative Innovation Center of Chemistry for Energy Materials (CN)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Nature Communications
- Published
- 2024-11-15
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-024-54282-2
- Citations
- 68
- Primary Topic
- CO2 Reduction Techniques and Catalysts
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 6.96
Funders
- Salt Science Research Foundation
- National Natural Science Foundation of China
- Ministry of Science and Technology of the People's Republic of China
- National Key Research and Development Program of China
- Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities