Probing the Active Surface Sites for CO Reduction on Oxide-Derived Copper Electrocatalysts
- 30 July 2015
- journal article
- Published by American Chemical Society (ACS) in Journal of the American Chemical Society
- Vol. 137 (31), 9808-9811
- https://doi.org/10.1021/jacs.5b06227
Abstract
CO electroreduction activity on oxide-derived Cu (OD-Cu) was found to correlate with metastable surface features that bind CO strongly. OD-Cu electrodes prepared by H2 reduction of Cu2O precursors reduce CO to acetate and ethanol with nearly 50% Faradaic efficiency at moderate overpotential. Temperature-programmed desorption of CO on OD-Cu revealed the presence of surface sites with strong CO binding that are distinct from the terraces and stepped sites found on polycrystalline Cu foil. After annealing at 350 °C, the surface-area corrected current density for CO reduction is 44-fold lower and the Faradaic efficiency is less than 5%. These changes are accompanied by a reduction in the proportion of strong CO binding sites. We propose that the active sites for CO reduction on OD-Cu surfaces are strong CO binding sites that are supported by grain boundaries. Uncovering these sites is a first step toward understanding the surface chemistry necessary for efficient CO electroreduction.Keywords
Funding Information
- U.S. Department of Defense (FA9550-14-1-0132)
- U.S. Department of Energy (FWP #SCW0939, DE-AC52-07NA27344)
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