Issue 7, 2023

Steering CO2 electroreduction selectivity towards CH4 and C2H4 on a tannic acid-modified Cu electrode

Abstract

CO2 electroreduction (CO2RR) offers a promising way to address CO2 emission and high-value utilization but it remains challenging to steer the selectivity of products due to complicated reaction pathways. Herein, tannic acid (TA) is reported as a modifier to regulate the selectivity of C2H4 and CH4 over the Cu catalyst. With an optimized TA amount, the maximal Faradaic efficiency of C2H4 and CH4 increases from 35.46% and 18.56% to 53.00% and 53.27%, respectively. In situ attenuated total reflection surface-enhanced infrared absorption spectra demonstrate that TA modification stabilizes the adsorbed CO and CHO intermediate and strengthens the interaction of hydrogen bonds with H2O. Kinetic isotope effect analysis of H2O/D2O reveals that TA-modified Cu could activate H2O dissociation to accelerate the proton-coupled electron transfer. Theoretical calculations further indicate the decrease of the energy barrier from *CO hydrogenation to *CHO by TA modification. The results evidence the importance of molecule modification to tailor the C2/C1 product selectivity in the CO2RR via concurrently stabilizing the intermediate and promoting proton transfer.

Graphical abstract: Steering CO2 electroreduction selectivity towards CH4 and C2H4 on a tannic acid-modified Cu electrode

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Research Article
Submitted
05 déc. 2022
Accepted
30 janv. 2023
First published
31 janv. 2023

Mater. Chem. Front., 2023,7, 1395-1402

Steering CO2 electroreduction selectivity towards CH4 and C2H4 on a tannic acid-modified Cu electrode

K. Xu, J. Li, F. Liu, W. Xu, T. Zhao and F. Cheng, Mater. Chem. Front., 2023, 7, 1395 DOI: 10.1039/D2QM01259F

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