Proceedings of nanoGe Fall Meeting 2021 (NFM21)
DOI: https://doi.org/10.29363/nanoge.nfm.2021.137
Publication date: 23rd September 2021
Anthropogenic activities have impacted the planet’s carbon cycle by the emissions of large amounts of greenhouse gases (GHGs), shifting the equilibrium of human history since the industrial revolution. The electrocatalytic CO2 reduction (EC CO2R) is an interesting technology because renewable energy sources could drive it; as well, it can be used to store both renewable electricity and CO2 in added-value products such as liquid fuels (ethanol and other high-octane alcohols (>C2).[1,2] To date, researchers have focused on observing the effects of surface modification (e.g., nano-structuring and surface tailoring) on catalysts selectivity and activity to produce C2+ products. Nonetheless, it remains an ongoing challenge due to high C-C coupling barriers. Among these studies, incorporating light heteroatoms such as boron (B) into the Cu catalyst has been reported to induce the formation and stabilization of Cu+1/Cu0 interfaces and reduce the *CO dimerization barrier, promoting a high activity for the EC CO2R towards C2 products.[3] Herein, we proposed B-doped Cu oxide catalysts for the EC CO2R process. Briefly, Cu-based powder was prepared by ultrasound-assisted co-precipitation method. Then, the Cu-based powder was impregnated in a solution of B2O3 and dried. The obtained material was calcined under air or N2. The catalyst materials have been characterized by different physico-chemical methods like X-ray diffraction, BET, porosimetry, and filed-emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM). Incorporating both B and N heteroatoms led to greater selectivity for reducing CO2 to products of interest: that is, a total FE of 64% to CO2 reduction products with 49% of liquid products (i.e. 77% selectivity towards formate and alcohols) at a total current density of 23 mA cm-2(see Figure 1). This behaviour is attributed to the fact that these elements belong to the p-block of the periodic table, which stabilize the carboxyl group by promoting the dimerization of the *CO intermediate. The physical and chemical properties of the synthesized materials can be manipulated to tune the performance of the electrochemical reaction. These interesting results could help find a suitable electrocatalyst to establish this technology at the industrial level.
This work has been performed with the financial support of Eni SpA: R&D Program Energy Transition (Cattura e Utilizzo CO2).
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