Cloride-derived copper electrode for efficient electrochemical reduction of CO2 to ethylene

Abstract

The electrochemical reduction of carbon dioxide can convert the greenhouse gas into value-added chemical products or fuels, which provides a promising strategy to address current energy and environmental issues. Increasing the selectivity for C2&C2+ products, particularly ethylene, remains an important goal in this field. We chose cuprous chloride as the catalyst precursor for electrochemical reduction of CO2, which efficiently converted carbon dioxide to ethylene. CuCl powder exhibited a maximum ethylene faradaic efficiency (FE) of 37%, ethylene partial current density of 14.8mA/cm2, and selectivity of 57.5% for C2&C2+ products at −1.06V (vs. reversible hydrogen electrode, RHE). Electron microcopy (TEM, SEM) and time-resolved ex situ X-ray diffraction (XRD) demonstrated that the catalyst was transformed gradually into a mixed phase of copper and cuprous oxide, with the morphological change into a cubic structure during reduction process. The presence of Cu1+ and the unique electrode morphology may simultaneously lead to the enhanced electrochemical activity.