Title

Exceptional Size-Dependent Activity Enhancement In The Electroreduction Of Co2 Over Au Nanoparticles

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 ∼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.

Publication Date

11-26-2014

Publication Title

Journal of the American Chemical Society

Volume

136

Issue

47

Number of Pages

16473-16476

Document Type

Article

Personal Identifier

scopus

DOI Link

https://doi.org/10.1021/ja508879j

Socpus ID

84914133318 (Scopus)

Source API URL

https://api.elsevier.com/content/abstract/scopus_id/84914133318

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