Title
Exceptional Size-Dependent Activity Enhancement in the Electroreduction of CO2 over Au Nanoparticles
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
DOI Link
Language
English
First Page
16473
Last Page
16476
WOS Identifier
ISSN
0002-7863
Recommended Citation
"Exceptional Size-Dependent Activity Enhancement in the Electroreduction of CO2 over Au Nanoparticles" (2014). Faculty Bibliography 2010s. 5844.
https://stars.library.ucf.edu/facultybib2010/5844
Comments
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