Understanding the Influence of Porosity on Product Selectivity for Copper CO2 Reduction Electrocatalysts

Abstract

The carbon dioxide reduction reaction (CO2RR) provides a process for producing valuable chemicals and energy-dense fuels from CO2; however, selectively producing a specific high-value product remains challenging. In this contribution, we present our study on how to harness nanoporous morphologies to address this challenge. Our work is driven by several results in literature which have now established that nanoporous morphologies can affect the CO2RR product distribution on Cu catalysts (1-3). To gain insight into this effect, we use model nanoporous Cu catalysts prepared using a self-assembled block copolymer (BCP) template. The BCP-template approach allows precise control over pore size and geometry as well as thickness. Using these structures and the dependence of the product distribution on pore sizes, pH, and mass transport, we will discuss the influence of nanoporous morphologies on the CO2RR efficacy and the implications for future CO2RR catalyst design, particularly within the context of reaction intermediate trapping for selectivity towards high-value products. References (1) A. Dutta, M. Rahaman, N. C. Luedi, M. Mohos, and P. Broekmann, ACS Catal., 6(6), 3804 (2016). (2) K. D. Yang, W. R. Ko, J. H. Lee, S. J. Kim, H. Lee, M. H. Lee, and K. T. Nam, Angew. Chem. Int. Ed., 56(3), 796 (2017). (3) T. Kim, A. Kargar, Y. Luo, R. Mohammed, E. Martinez-Loran, A. Ganapathi, P. Shah, and D. P. Fenning, ACS Appl. Energy Mater., 1(5), 1965 (2018).