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Defining a Materials Database for the Design of Copper Binary Alloy Catalysts for Electrochemical CO 2 Conversion
Author(s) -
Lee Chan Woo,
Yang Ki Dong,
Nam DaeHyun,
Jang Jun Ho,
Cho Nam Heon,
Im Sang Won,
Nam Ki Tae
Publication year - 2018
Publication title -
advanced materials
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 10.707
H-Index - 527
eISSN - 1521-4095
pISSN - 0935-9648
DOI - 10.1002/adma.201704717
Subject(s) - materials science , alloy , oxide , electrochemistry , catalysis , copper , binary number , nanotechnology , field (mathematics) , electrode , metallurgy , chemistry , biochemistry , arithmetic , mathematics , pure mathematics
While Cu electrodes are a versatile material in the electrochemical production of desired hydrocarbon fuels, Cu binary alloy electrodes are recently proposed to further tune reaction directionality and, more importantly, overcome the intrinsic limitation of scaling relations. Despite encouraging empirical demonstrations of various Cu‐based metal alloy systems, the underlying principles of their outstanding performance are not fully addressed. In particular, possible phase segregation with concurrent composition changes, which is widely observed in the field of metallurgy, is not at all considered. Moreover, surface‐exposed metals can easily form oxide species, which is another pivotal factor that determines overall catalytic properties. Here, the understanding of Cu binary alloy catalysts for CO 2 reduction and recent progress in this field are discussed. From the viewpoint of the thermodynamic stability of the alloy system and elemental mixing, possible microstructures and naturally generated surface oxide species are proposed. These basic principles of material science can help to predict and understand metal alloy structure and, moreover, act as an inspiration for the development of new binary alloy catalysts to further improve CO 2 conversion and, ultimately, achieve a carbon‐neutral cycle.