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Micro‐Electrode with Fast Mass Transport for Enhancing Selectivity of Carbonaceous Products in Electrochemical CO 2 Reduction
Author(s) -
Zhang Qixing,
Ren Dan,
Pan Sanjiang,
Wang Manjing,
Luo Jingshan,
Zhao Ying,
Grätzel Michael,
Zhang Xiaodan
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
advanced functional materials
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 6.069
H-Index - 322
eISSN - 1616-3028
pISSN - 1616-301X
DOI - 10.1002/adfm.202103966
Subject(s) - materials science , electrode , reversible hydrogen electrode , electrochemistry , electrolyte , faraday efficiency , selectivity , standard hydrogen electrode , chemical engineering , palladium hydrogen electrode , copper , inorganic chemistry , catalysis , nanotechnology , reference electrode , metallurgy , chemistry , organic chemistry , engineering
During electrochemical carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) reduction on copper electrodes in an aqueous electrolyte, one of the key challenges is the competition between hydrogen evolution and CO 2 reduction, especially under large current density. Here, micro‐electrodes are designed with a copper wire as the substrate, which shows improved mass transport compared to the planar electrode. The Faradaic efficiency for C 2+ products reaches 79% with a partial geometric current density − 77.7 mA cm −2 on Cu 2 O nanowire/micro‐electrode, which is 3.7 times higher than Cu 2 O nanowire/planar‐electrode. The authors also designed CuO and metallic Cu with micro‐electrode as substrate and observed enhanced selectivity for carbonaceous products, proving the universality of the concept. The improved activity is attributed to the fast mass transport of CO 2 to the catalytic interface and thus the suppression of hydrogen production.