Issue 9, 2021

Stabilization effects in binary colloidal Cu and Ag nanoparticle electrodes under electrochemical CO2 reduction conditions

Abstract

Nanoparticle modified electrodes constitute an attractive way to tailor-make efficient carbon dioxide (CO2) reduction catalysts. However, the restructuring and sintering processes of nanoparticles under electrochemical reaction conditions not only impedes the widespread application of nanoparticle catalysts, but also misleads the interpretation of the selectivity of the nanocatalysts. Here, we colloidally synthesized metallic copper (Cu) and silver (Ag) nanoparticles with a narrow size distribution (<10%) and utilized them in electrochemical CO2 reduction reactions. Monometallic Cu and Ag nanoparticle electrodes showed severe nanoparticle sintering already at low overpotential of −0.8 V vs. RHE, as evidenced by ex situ SEM investigations, and potential-dependent variations in product selectivity that resemble bulk Cu (14% for ethylene at −1.3 V vs. RHE) and Ag (69% for carbon monoxide at −1.0 V vs. RHE). However, by co-deposition of Cu and Ag nanoparticles, a nanoparticle stabilization effect was observed between Cu and Ag, and the sintering process was greatly suppressed at CO2 reducing potentials (−0.8 V vs. RHE). Furthermore, by varying the Cu/Ag nanoparticle ratio, the CO2 reduction reaction (CO2RR) selectivity towards methane (maximum of 20.6% for dense Cu2.5–Ag1 electrodes) and C2 products (maximum of 15.7% for dense Cu1–Ag1 electrodes) can be tuned, which is attributed to a synergistic effect between neighbouring Ag and Cu nanoparticles. We attribute the stabilization of the nanoparticles to the positive enthalpies of Cu–Ag solid solutions, which prevents the dissolution-redeposition induced particle growth under CO2RR conditions. The observed nanoparticle stabilization effect enables the design and fabrication of active CO2 reduction nanocatalysts with high durability.

Graphical abstract: Stabilization effects in binary colloidal Cu and Ag nanoparticle electrodes under electrochemical CO2 reduction conditions

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Paper
Submitted
22 Dec. 2020
Accepted
20 Febr. 2021
First published
22 Febr. 2021
This article is Open Access
Creative Commons BY-NC license

Nanoscale, 2021,13, 4835-4844

Stabilization effects in binary colloidal Cu and Ag nanoparticle electrodes under electrochemical CO2 reduction conditions

L. Wu, K. E. Kolmeijer, Y. Zhang, H. An, S. Arnouts, S. Bals, T. Altantzis, J. P. Hofmann, M. Costa Figueiredo, E. J. M. Hensen, B. M. Weckhuysen and W. van der Stam, Nanoscale, 2021, 13, 4835 DOI: 10.1039/D0NR09040A

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