Electrochemical reduction of CO2 to ethylene on Cu/CuxO-GO composites in aqueous solution

Abstract

Here, we present fabrication of Graphene oxide (GO) supported Cu/Cu_xO nano-electrodeposits which can efficiently and selectively electroreduce CO₂ into ethylene with a faradaic efficiency (F.E) of 34% and a conversion rate of 194 mmol g⁻¹ h⁻¹ at −0.985 V vs. RHE. The effect of catalyst morphology, working electrode fabricational techniques, the extent of metal–GO interaction and the oxide content in Cu/Cu_xO, 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 CO₂. 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.