Exceptional Size-Dependent Activity Enhancement in the Electroreduction of CO2 over Au Nanoparticles

    Authors

    H. Mistry; R. Reske; Z. H. Zeng; Z. J. Zhao; J. Greeley; P. Strasser;B. R. Cuenya

    Comments

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    Abbreviated Journal Title

    J. Am. Chem. Soc.

    Keywords

    ELECTROCHEMICAL REDUCTION; HYDROGEN EVOLUTION; ELECTROCATALYTIC; ACTIVITY; CATALYTIC-PROPERTIES; GOLD NANOPARTICLES; ELECTRODES; TRENDS; Chemistry, Multidisciplinary

    Abstract

    The electrocatalytic reduction of CO2 to industrial chemicals and fuels is a promising pathway to sustainable electrical energy storage and to an artificial carbon cycle, but it is currently hindered by the low energy efficiency and low activity displayed by traditional electrode materials. We report here the size-dependent catalytic activity of micelle-synthesized Au nanoparticles (NPs) in the size range of similar to 1-8 nm for the electroreduction of CO2 to CO in 0.1 M KHCO3. A drastic increase in current density was observed with decreasing NP size, along with a decrease in Faradaic selectivity toward CO. Density functional theory calculations showed that these trends are related to the increase in the number of low-coordinated sites on small NPs, which favor the evolution of H2 over CO2 reduction to CO. We show here that the H2/CO product ratio can be specifically tailored for different industrial processes by tuning the size of the catalyst particles.

    Journal Title

    Journal of the American Chemical Society

    Volume

    136

    Issue/Number

    47

    Publication Date

    1-1-2014

    Document Type

    Article

    Language

    English

    First Page

    16473

    Last Page

    16476

    WOS Identifier

    WOS:000345720500004

    ISSN

    0002-7863

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