Electrodeposited Copper Nanocatalysts for CO 2 Electroreduction: Effect of Electrodeposition Conditions on Catalysts’ Morphology and Selectivity

Gianluca Zanellato, Pier Giorgio Schiavi, Robertino Zanoni, Antonio Rubino, Pietro Altimari and Francesca Pagnanelli
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Gianluca Zanellato: Department of Chemistry, Sapienza University of Rome, Piazzale Aldo Moro n.5, 00185 Rome, Italy
Pier Giorgio Schiavi: Department of Chemistry, Sapienza University of Rome, Piazzale Aldo Moro n.5, 00185 Rome, Italy
Robertino Zanoni: Department of Chemistry, Sapienza University of Rome, Piazzale Aldo Moro n.5, 00185 Rome, Italy
Antonio Rubino: Department of Chemistry, Sapienza University of Rome, Piazzale Aldo Moro n.5, 00185 Rome, Italy
Pietro Altimari: Department of Chemistry, Sapienza University of Rome, Piazzale Aldo Moro n.5, 00185 Rome, Italy
Francesca Pagnanelli: Department of Chemistry, Sapienza University of Rome, Piazzale Aldo Moro n.5, 00185 Rome, Italy

Energies, 2021, vol. 14, issue 16, 1-15

Abstract: Catalytic electroreduction of carbon dioxide represents a promising technology both to reduce CO 2 emissions and to store electrical energy from discontinuous sources. In this work, electrochemical deposition of copper on to a gas-diffusion support was tested as a scalable and versatile nanosynthesis technique for the production of catalytic electrodes for CO 2 electroreduction. The effect of deposition current density and additives (DAT, DTAB, PEG) on the catalysts’ structure was evaluated. The selectivity of the synthesized catalysts towards the production of CO was evaluated by analyzing the gaseous products obtained using the catalysts as cathodes in electroreduction tests. Catalyst morphology was deeply influenced by the deposition additives. Copper nanospheres, hemispherical microaggregates of nanowires, and shapeless structures were electrodeposited in the presence of dodecyltrimethylammonium bromide (DTAB), 3,5-diamino-1,2,4-triazole (DAT) and polyethylene glycol (PEG), respectively. The effect of the deposition current density on catalyst morphology was also observed and it was found to be additive-specific. DTAB nanostructured electrodes showed the highest selectivity towards CO production, probably attributable to a higher specific surface area. EDX and XPS analysis disclosed the presence of residual DAT and DTAB uniformly distributed onto the catalysts structure. No significant effects of electrodeposition current density and Cu(I)/Cu(II) ratio on the selectivity towards CO were found. In particular, DTAB and DAT electrodes yielded comparable selectivity, although they were characterized by the highest and lowest Cu(I)/Cu(II) ratio, respectively.

Keywords: carbon dioxide electroreduction; copper electrodeposition; additive electrodeposition; morphology-controlled synthesis; copper nanocatalysts; gas diffusion electrode; carbon monoxide (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q Q0 Q4 Q40 Q41 Q42 Q43 Q47 Q48 Q49 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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