Boosting C-C Coupling for Electrochemical CO<sub>2</sub> Reduction over Novel Cu-Cubic Catalysts with an Amorphous Shell
Currently, the electrochemical reduction of carbon dioxide faces significant challenges, including poor selectivity for C<sub>2</sub> products and low conversion efficiency. An effective strategy for optimizing the reduction reaction pathway and enhancing catalytic performance involves m...
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MDPI AG
2025-04-01
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| author | Hanlin Wang Tian Wang Gaigai Dong Linbo Zhang Fan Pan Yunqing Zhu |
| author_facet | Hanlin Wang Tian Wang Gaigai Dong Linbo Zhang Fan Pan Yunqing Zhu |
| author_sort | Hanlin Wang |
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| description | Currently, the electrochemical reduction of carbon dioxide faces significant challenges, including poor selectivity for C<sub>2</sub> products and low conversion efficiency. An effective strategy for optimizing the reduction reaction pathway and enhancing catalytic performance involves manipulating highly unsaturated atomic sites on the catalyst’s surface, thereby increasing the number of active sites. In this study, we employed sodium dodecylbenzenesulfonate (SDBS) as a surfactant in the electrodeposition method to synthesize copper cubes encapsulated with an amorphous shell (100 nm–250 nm) containing numerous defect sites on its surface. The electrocatalytic CO<sub>2</sub> reduction reactions in an H-type reactor showed that, compared to ED-Cu synthesized without additives, AS (amorphous shell)-Cu-5 exhibited a Faradaic efficiency value for ethylene that was 1.7 times greater than that of ED-Cu while significantly decreasing the Faradaic efficiency of hydrogen production. In situ attenuated total reflectance surface-enhanced infrared spectroscopy (ATR-SEIRAS) revealed that introducing an amorphous shell and abundant defects altered both the intermediate species and reaction pathways on the AS-Cu-5 catalyst’s surface, favoring C<sub>2</sub>H<sub>4</sub> formation. The density functional theory (DFT) calculations further confirmed that amorphous copper lowers the energy barrier required for C-C coupling, resulting in a marked enhancement in FE-C<sub>2</sub>H<sub>4</sub>. Therefore, additive-assisted electrodeposition presents a simple and rapid synthesis method for improving ethylene selectivity in copper catalysts. |
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| institution | Kabale University |
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| publishDate | 2025-04-01 |
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| spelling | doaj-art-d8004c86475d43f3a231380a6bdda3c02025-08-20T03:47:59ZengMDPI AGInorganics2304-67402025-04-0113513010.3390/inorganics13050130Boosting C-C Coupling for Electrochemical CO<sub>2</sub> Reduction over Novel Cu-Cubic Catalysts with an Amorphous ShellHanlin Wang0Tian Wang1Gaigai Dong2Linbo Zhang3Fan Pan4Yunqing Zhu5School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Shaanxi University of Science and Technology, Xi’an 710021, ChinaSchool of Environmental Engineering, Henan University of Technology, Zhengzhou 450001, ChinaSchool of Environmental Science and Engineering, Shaanxi University of Science and Technology, Xi’an 710021, ChinaSchool of Environmental Science and Engineering, Shaanxi University of Science and Technology, Xi’an 710021, ChinaSchool of Environmental Science and Engineering, Shaanxi University of Science and Technology, Xi’an 710021, ChinaSchool of Environmental Science and Engineering, Shaanxi University of Science and Technology, Xi’an 710021, ChinaCurrently, the electrochemical reduction of carbon dioxide faces significant challenges, including poor selectivity for C<sub>2</sub> products and low conversion efficiency. An effective strategy for optimizing the reduction reaction pathway and enhancing catalytic performance involves manipulating highly unsaturated atomic sites on the catalyst’s surface, thereby increasing the number of active sites. In this study, we employed sodium dodecylbenzenesulfonate (SDBS) as a surfactant in the electrodeposition method to synthesize copper cubes encapsulated with an amorphous shell (100 nm–250 nm) containing numerous defect sites on its surface. The electrocatalytic CO<sub>2</sub> reduction reactions in an H-type reactor showed that, compared to ED-Cu synthesized without additives, AS (amorphous shell)-Cu-5 exhibited a Faradaic efficiency value for ethylene that was 1.7 times greater than that of ED-Cu while significantly decreasing the Faradaic efficiency of hydrogen production. In situ attenuated total reflectance surface-enhanced infrared spectroscopy (ATR-SEIRAS) revealed that introducing an amorphous shell and abundant defects altered both the intermediate species and reaction pathways on the AS-Cu-5 catalyst’s surface, favoring C<sub>2</sub>H<sub>4</sub> formation. The density functional theory (DFT) calculations further confirmed that amorphous copper lowers the energy barrier required for C-C coupling, resulting in a marked enhancement in FE-C<sub>2</sub>H<sub>4</sub>. Therefore, additive-assisted electrodeposition presents a simple and rapid synthesis method for improving ethylene selectivity in copper catalysts.https://www.mdpi.com/2304-6740/13/5/130CO<sub>2</sub> electroreductionCu cubeamorphous CuC–C coupling*COCHO intermediate |
| spellingShingle | Hanlin Wang Tian Wang Gaigai Dong Linbo Zhang Fan Pan Yunqing Zhu Boosting C-C Coupling for Electrochemical CO<sub>2</sub> Reduction over Novel Cu-Cubic Catalysts with an Amorphous Shell Inorganics CO<sub>2</sub> electroreduction Cu cube amorphous Cu C–C coupling *COCHO intermediate |
| title | Boosting C-C Coupling for Electrochemical CO<sub>2</sub> Reduction over Novel Cu-Cubic Catalysts with an Amorphous Shell |
| title_full | Boosting C-C Coupling for Electrochemical CO<sub>2</sub> Reduction over Novel Cu-Cubic Catalysts with an Amorphous Shell |
| title_fullStr | Boosting C-C Coupling for Electrochemical CO<sub>2</sub> Reduction over Novel Cu-Cubic Catalysts with an Amorphous Shell |
| title_full_unstemmed | Boosting C-C Coupling for Electrochemical CO<sub>2</sub> Reduction over Novel Cu-Cubic Catalysts with an Amorphous Shell |
| title_short | Boosting C-C Coupling for Electrochemical CO<sub>2</sub> Reduction over Novel Cu-Cubic Catalysts with an Amorphous Shell |
| title_sort | boosting c c coupling for electrochemical co sub 2 sub reduction over novel cu cubic catalysts with an amorphous shell |
| topic | CO<sub>2</sub> electroreduction Cu cube amorphous Cu C–C coupling *COCHO intermediate |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2304-6740/13/5/130 |
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