Serfőző Andrea, Csík Gábor András, Kormányos Attila, Balog Ádám, Janáky Csaba, Endrődi Balázs
Department of Physical Chemistry and Materials Science, University of Szeged, Rerrich Square 1, Szeged, H-6720 Hungary.
Nanoscale. 2023 Oct 26;15(41):16734-16740. doi: 10.1039/d3nr03834c.
To reach industrially relevant current densities in the electrochemical reduction of carbon dioxide, this process must be performed in continuous-flow electrolyzer cells, applying gas diffusion electrodes. Beyond the chemical composition of the catalyst, both its morphology and the overall structure of the catalyst layer are decisive in terms of reaction rate and product selectivity. We present an electrodeposition method for preparing coherent copper nanocube catalyst layers on hydrophobic carbon paper, hence forming gas diffusion electrodes with high coverage in a single step. This was enabled by the appropriate wetting of the carbon paper (controlled by the composition of the electrodeposition solution) and the use of a custom-designed 3D-printed electrolyzer cell, which allowed the deposition of copper nanocubes selectively on the microporous side of the carbon paper substrate. Furthermore, a polymeric binder (Capstone ST-110) was successfully incorporated into the catalyst layer during electrodeposition. The high electrode coverage and the binder content together result in an increased ethylene production rate during CO reduction, compared to catalyst layers prepared from simple aqueous solutions.
为了在二氧化碳的电化学还原过程中达到与工业相关的电流密度，该过程必须在连续流动的电解槽中进行，并应用气体扩散电极。除了催化剂的化学成分外，其形态和催化剂层的整体结构对于反应速率和产物选择性也起着决定性作用。我们提出了一种电沉积方法，用于在疏水碳纸上制备连贯的铜纳米立方体催化剂层，从而一步形成具有高覆盖率的气体扩散电极。这是通过对碳纸进行适当的润湿（由电沉积溶液的成分控制）以及使用定制设计的3D打印电解槽实现的，该电解槽允许铜纳米立方体选择性地沉积在碳纸基材的微孔面上。此外，在电沉积过程中成功地将一种聚合物粘合剂（Capstone ST-110）掺入催化剂层中。与由简单水溶液制备的催化剂层相比，高电极覆盖率和粘合剂含量共同导致了CO还原过程中乙烯产率的提高。
