C (Nov 2023)

Electrocatalytic Enhancement of CO Methanation at the Metal–Electrolyte Interface Studied Using In Situ X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy

  • Christoph W. Thurner,
  • Leander Haug,
  • Daniel Winkler,
  • Christoph Griesser,
  • Matthias Leitner,
  • Toni Moser,
  • Daniel Werner,
  • Marco Thaler,
  • Lucas A. Scheibel,
  • Thomas Götsch,
  • Emilia Carbonio,
  • Julia Kunze-Liebhäuser,
  • Engelbert Portenkirchner,
  • Simon Penner,
  • Bernhard Klötzer

DOI
https://doi.org/10.3390/c9040106
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 9, no. 4
p. 106

Abstract

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For the direct reduction of CO2 and H2O in solid oxide electrolysis cells (SOECs) with cermet electrodes toward methane, a fundamental understanding of the role of elemental carbon as a key intermediate within the reaction pathway is of eminent interest. The present synchrotron-based in situ near-ambient-pressure X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (NAP-XPS) study shows that alloying of Ni/yttria-stabilized-zirconia (YSZ) cermet electrodes with Cu can be used to control the electrochemical accumulation of interfacial carbon and to optimize its reactivity toward CO2. In the presence of syngas, sufficiently high cathodic potentials induce excess methane on the studied Ni/yttria-stabilized-zirconia (YSZ)-, NiCu/YSZ- and Pt/gadolinium-doped-ceria (GDC) cermet systems. The hydrogenation of carbon, resulting from CO activation at the triple-phase boundary of Pt/GDC, is most efficient.

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