Copper/Carbon Heterogenous Interfaces for Enhanced Selective Electrocatalytic Reduction of CO₂ to Formate

Area of Science:

• Electrochemistry
• Materials Science
• Catalysis

Background:

• Electrochemical reduction of carbon dioxide (CO2 RR) is a key strategy for producing valuable chemicals.
• Developing efficient and cost-effective electrocatalysts with high selectivity remains a significant challenge.
• Copper-based catalysts are promising for CO2 RR, but optimizing their performance is crucial.

Purpose of the Study:

• To design and synthesize a novel copper-anchored hollow carbon spheres catalyst (HCS/Cu) for CO2 RR.
• To investigate the effect of copper/carbon heterogeneous interfaces on catalytic performance.
• To achieve high formate selectivity and current density for CO2 reduction.

Main Methods:

• Synthesis of hollow carbon spheres (HCS).
• Anchoring copper nanoparticles onto HCS to form HCS/Cu-x catalysts with varying copper loadings.
• Electrochemical characterization of catalysts in an aqueous electrolyte using a H-cell setup.
• Analysis of formate Faradaic efficiency (FE) and current density.

Main Results:

• The optimized HCS/Cu-0.12 catalyst exhibited rich copper/carbon heterogeneous interfaces and a beneficial hollow structure for charge transmission.
• Achieved the highest formate Faradaic efficiency (FE) of 82.4% at a current density of 26 mA cm⁻².
• Demonstrated remarkable stability in the H-cell, outperforming previously reported Cu-based catalysts in aqueous electrolytes.

Conclusions:

• The designed HCS/Cu catalyst with controlled interfaces offers a promising pathway for efficient CO2 RR to formate.
• The hollow structure and heterogeneous interfaces significantly enhance catalytic activity and selectivity.
• This work provides a new strategy for developing advanced electrocatalysts for sustainable chemical synthesis.