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Operando Investigation of Ag‐Decorated Cu 2 O Nanocube Catalysts with Enhanced CO 2 Electroreduction toward Liquid Products
Author(s) -
Herzog Antonia,
Bergmann Arno,
Jeon Hyo Sang,
Timoshenko Janis,
Kühl Stefanie,
Rettenmaier Clara,
Lopez Luna Mauricio,
Haase Felix T.,
Roldan Cuenya Beatriz
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
angewandte chemie international edition
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 5.831
H-Index - 550
eISSN - 1521-3773
pISSN - 1433-7851
DOI - 10.1002/anie.202017070
Subject(s) - catalysis , formate , electrochemistry , raman spectroscopy , materials science , faraday efficiency , yield (engineering) , inorganic chemistry , absorption spectroscopy , acetaldehyde , redox , chemistry , nuclear chemistry , ethanol , organic chemistry , electrode , metallurgy , physics , optics , quantum mechanics
Direct conversion of carbon dioxide into multicarbon liquid fuels by the CO 2 electrochemical reduction reaction (CO 2 RR) can contribute to the decarbonization of the global economy. Here, well‐defined Cu 2 O nanocubes (NCs, 35 nm) uniformly covered with Ag nanoparticles (5 nm) were synthesized. When compared to bare Cu 2 O NCs, the catalyst with 5 at % Ag on Cu 2 O NCs displayed a two‐fold increase in the Faradaic efficiency for C 2+ liquid products (30 % at −1.0 V RHE ), including ethanol, 1‐propanol, and acetaldehyde, while formate and hydrogen were suppressed. Operando X‐ray absorption spectroscopy revealed the partial reduction of Cu 2 O during CO 2 RR, accompanied by a reaction‐driven redispersion of Ag on the CuO x NCs. Data from operando surface‐enhanced Raman spectroscopy further uncovered significant variations in the CO binding to Cu, which were assigned to Ag−Cu sites formed during CO 2 RR that appear crucial for the C−C coupling and the enhanced yield of liquid products.