In-situ grown CuOx nanowire forest on copper foam: A 3D hierarchical and freestanding electrocatalyst with enhanced carbonaceous product selectivity in CO2 reduction

Wenjun Zhang; Minghang Jiang; Songyuan Yang; Yi Hu; Bin Mu; Zuoxiu Tie; Zhong Jin

doi:10.26599/NRE.2022.9120033

Nano Research Energy (Dec 2022)

In-situ grown CuOx nanowire forest on copper foam: A 3D hierarchical and freestanding electrocatalyst with enhanced carbonaceous product selectivity in CO2 reduction

Wenjun Zhang,
Minghang Jiang,
Songyuan Yang,
Yi Hu,
Bin Mu,
Zuoxiu Tie,
Zhong Jin

Affiliations

Wenjun Zhang: MOE Key Laboratory of Mesoscopic Chemistry, MOE Key Laboratory of High Performance Polymer Materials and Technology, Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Advanced Organic Materials, School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Nanjing University, Nanjing 210023, China
Minghang Jiang: MOE Key Laboratory of Mesoscopic Chemistry, MOE Key Laboratory of High Performance Polymer Materials and Technology, Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Advanced Organic Materials, School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Nanjing University, Nanjing 210023, China
Songyuan Yang: MOE Key Laboratory of Mesoscopic Chemistry, MOE Key Laboratory of High Performance Polymer Materials and Technology, Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Advanced Organic Materials, School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Nanjing University, Nanjing 210023, China
Yi Hu: MOE Key Laboratory of Mesoscopic Chemistry, MOE Key Laboratory of High Performance Polymer Materials and Technology, Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Advanced Organic Materials, School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Nanjing University, Nanjing 210023, China
Bin Mu: School for Engineering of Matter, Transport, and Energy, Arizona State University, 501 East Tyler Mall, Tempe, AZ 85287, USA
Zuoxiu Tie: MOE Key Laboratory of Mesoscopic Chemistry, MOE Key Laboratory of High Performance Polymer Materials and Technology, Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Advanced Organic Materials, School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Nanjing University, Nanjing 210023, China
Zhong Jin: MOE Key Laboratory of Mesoscopic Chemistry, MOE Key Laboratory of High Performance Polymer Materials and Technology, Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Advanced Organic Materials, School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Nanjing University, Nanjing 210023, China

DOI: https://doi.org/10.26599/NRE.2022.9120033
Journal volume & issue: Vol. 1, no. 3
p. e9120033

Abstract

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Electrocatalytic carbon dioxide (CO2) reduction is considered as an economical and environmentally friendly approach to neutralizing and recycling greenhouse gas CO2. However, the design of preeminent and robust electrocatalysts for CO2 electroreduction is still challenging. Herein, we report the in-situ growth of dense CuOx nanowire forest on 3D porous Cu foam (CuOx-NWF@Cu-F), which can be directly applied as a freestanding and binder-free working electrode for highly effective electrocatalytic CO2 reduction. By adjusting the surface morphology and chemical composition of CuOx nanowires via surface reconstruction, large electrochemically active surface area and abundant Cu(+1) sites were generated, leading to remarkable activity for CO2 electroreduction. The as-prepared hierarchical conductive electrode exhibited an enhanced Faradaic efficiency of 15.0% for ethanol formation (FEC2H5OH) and a total Faradaic efficiency of 69.4% for all carbonaceous compounds (FEC-total) at a mild applied potential of –0.45 V vs. RHE in 0.1 M KHCO3 electrolyte. It achieved a 4-fold increase in FEC-total than that of Cu nanowire forest supported on 3D porous Cu foam (Cu-NWF@Cu-F) obtained by in-situ reduction of the CuOx-NWF@Cu-F via annealing at H2 atmosphere, and thereby effectively suppressed the hydrogen evolution side-reaction.

Published in Nano Research Energy

ISSN: 2791-0091 (Print); 2790-8119 (Online)
Publisher: Tsinghua University Press
Country of publisher: China
LCC subjects: Science: Chemistry; Science: Physics
Website: https://www.sciopen.com/journal/2791-0091

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