Understanding Selectivity for the Electrochemical
Reduction of Carbon Dioxide to Formic Acid and Carbon Monoxide on
Metal Electrodes
Posted on 2017-06-22 - 19:35
Increases in energy
demand and in chemical production, together
with the rise in CO2 levels in the atmosphere, motivate
the development of renewable energy sources. Electrochemical CO2 reduction to fuels and chemicals is an appealing alternative
to traditional pathways to fuels and chemicals due to its intrinsic
ability to couple to solar and wind energy sources. Formate (HCOO–) is a key chemical for many industries; however, greater
understanding is needed regarding the mechanism and key intermediates
for HCOO– production. This work reports a joint
experimental and theoretical investigation of the electrochemical
reduction of CO2 to HCOO– on polycrystalline
Sn surfaces, which have been identified as promising catalysts for
selectively producing HCOO–. Our results show that
Sn electrodes produce HCOO–, carbon monoxide (CO),
and hydrogen (H2) across a range of potentials and that
HCOO– production becomes favored at potentials more
negative than −0.8 V vs RHE, reaching a maximum Faradaic efficiency
of 70% at −0.9 V vs RHE. Scaling relations for Sn and other
transition metals are examined using experimental current densities
and density functional theory (DFT) binding energies. While *COOH
was determined to be the key intermediate for CO production on metal
surfaces, we suggest that it is unlikely to be the primary intermediate
for HCOO– production. Instead, *OCHO is suggested
to be the key intermediate for the CO2RR to HCOO– transformation, and Sn’s optimal *OCHO binding energy supports
its high selectivity for HCOO–. These results suggest
that oxygen-bound intermediates are critical to understand the mechanism
of CO2 reduction to HCOO– on metal surfaces.
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Feaster, Jeremy
T.; Shi, Chuan; Cave, Etosha R.; Hatsukade, Toru; Abram, David N.; Kuhl, Kendra P.; et al. (2017). Understanding Selectivity for the Electrochemical
Reduction of Carbon Dioxide to Formic Acid and Carbon Monoxide on
Metal Electrodes. ACS Publications. Collection. https://doi.org/10.1021/acscatal.7b00687
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AUTHORS (9)
JF
Jeremy
T. Feaster
CS
Chuan Shi
EC
Etosha R. Cave
TH
Toru Hatsukade
DA
David N. Abram
KK
Kendra P. Kuhl
CH
Christopher Hahn
JN
Jens K. Nørskov
TJ
Thomas F. Jaramillo