Efficient CO₂ Electroreduction via Au-Complex Derived Carbon Nanotube Supported Au Nanoclusters

Area of Science:

• Electrochemistry
• Materials Science
• Catalysis

Background:

• Carbon neutrality goals necessitate efficient carbon dioxide (CO2) utilization.
• Developing high-performance catalysts for CO2 electroreduction remains a significant challenge.
• Understanding catalyst restructuring under electrochemical conditions is crucial for performance enhancement.

Purpose of the Study:

• To demonstrate the intrinsic performance enhancement of a gold-complex derived carbon nanotube-supported gold nanoclusters catalyst for CO2 reduction.
• To investigate the structure-activity relationship of the catalyst during electrochemical CO2 reduction.

Main Methods:

• Synthesis of a gold-complex derived carbon nanotube-supported gold nanoclusters catalyst.
• Electrochemical CO2 reduction experiments in both H-cell and flow cell reactors.
• Analysis of catalyst structure and electronic properties to understand performance enhancement.

Main Results:

• The catalyst exhibited impressive activity for producing carbon monoxide (CO) from CO2 electroreduction.
• The synthesis procedure induced charge transfer between gold nanoclusters and carbon nanotubes.
• An electron-rich state at the gold active sites was formed, facilitating CO2 activation.

Conclusions:

• The developed gold catalyst demonstrates high performance for CO2 electroreduction to CO.
• The charge transfer and electron-rich state of gold active sites are key to enhanced CO2 activation.
• This work offers insights into designing advanced catalysts for carbon neutrality through CO2 utilization.