Electrochemical reduction of CO to ethylene on Cu/Cu O-GO composites in aqueous solution.

Here, we present fabrication of Graphene oxide (GO) supported Cu/Cu O nano-electrodeposits which can efficiently and selectively electroreduce CO into ethylene with a faradaic efficiency (F.E) of 34% and a conversion rate of 194 mmol g h at -0.985 V RHE. The effect of catalyst morphology, working electrode fabricational techniques, the extent of metal-GO interaction and the oxide content in Cu/Cu O, was studied in detail so as to develop a protocol for the fabrication of an active, stable and selective catalyst for efficient electro-production of ethylene from CO. Moreover, a detailed comparative study about the effect of the GO support, and the nature of the cathodic collection substrate used for the electro-deposition is presented.