Copper adparticle enabled selective electrosynthesis of n-propanol
Jun Li (University of Toronto)
Fanglin Che (University of Toronto)
Yuanjie Pang (University of Toronto)
Chengqin Zou (Tianjin University, University of Toronto)
Jane Y. Howe (Hitachi High Technologies America, Inc.)
T.E. Burdyny (TU Delft - ChemE/Materials for Energy Conversion and Storage, University of Toronto)
Jonathan P. Edwards (University of Toronto)
Yuhang Wang (University of Toronto)
Fengwang Li (University of Toronto)
Ziyun Wang (University of Toronto)
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Abstract
The electrochemical reduction of carbon monoxide is a promising approach for the renewable production of carbon-based fuels and chemicals. Copper shows activity toward multi-carbon products from CO reduction, with reaction selectivity favoring two-carbon products; however, efficient conversion of CO to higher carbon products such as n-propanol, a liquid fuel, has yet to be achieved. We hypothesize that copper adparticles, possessing a high density of under-coordinated atoms, could serve as preferential sites for n-propanol formation. Density functional theory calculations suggest that copper adparticles increase CO binding energy and stabilize two-carbon intermediates, facilitating coupling between adsorbed *CO and two-carbon intermediates to form three-carbon products. We form adparticle-covered catalysts in-situ by mediating catalyst growth with strong CO chemisorption. The new catalysts exhibit an n-propanol Faradaic efficiency of 23% from CO reduction at an n-propanol partial current density of 11 mA cm−2.
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