Differential Adsorption on Synergistic Cu─Cd Sites Enables Direct Hydrogenation in Acidic CO <sub>2</sub> Electroreduction
Abstract
Abstract The direct involvement of proton in acidic CO 2 reduction is key to boosting energy efficiency and preventing carbonate formation. However, the competitive adsorption of proton at low overpotential limits CO production by inhibiting the activation and hydrogenation of CO 2 to form the key intermediates, * COOH. To address this challenge, we developed a Cu─Cd alloy catalyst, which optimizes the proton‐coupled electron transfer (PCET) pathway through a synergistic regulation between dual Cu and Cd active sites. In situ spectroscopy and theoretical calculations reveal that Cd incorporation enhances * CO 2 adsorption and lowers the energy barrier for * COOH formation. By proving direct electrochemical hydrogenation, our catalyst achieved a remarkable CO Faradaic efficiency (FE) of 98.6% at −1.12 V versus RHE, and operated for over 250 h at a total current of 0.4 A under a voltage of 2.55 V in a proton exchange membrane electrode assembly. This research presents a powerful new insight for high‐performance acidic CO 2 electrolysis in proton‐abundant electrolyte environments.
Article Details
Authors (9)
Liyuan Zhou
Lebin Cai
State Key Laboratory of New Textile Materials and Advanced Processing Key Laboratory of Material Chemistry for Energy Conversion and Storage (Ministry of Education) Hubei Key Laboratory of Material Chemistry and Service Failure School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering Huazhong University of Science and Technology (HUST) Wuhan China
Wensheng Fang
State Key Laboratory of New Textile Materials and Advanced Processing Key Laboratory of Material Chemistry for Energy Conversion and Storage (Ministry of Education) Hubei Key Laboratory of Material Chemistry and Service Failure School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering Huazhong University of Science and Technology (HUST) Wuhan China
Deyu Zhu
School of Basic Medical Sciences
Ruijuan Qi
Key Laboratory of Polar Materials and Devices (MOE), Department of Electronics
Fuqing Yu
State Key Laboratory of New Textile Materials and Advanced Processing, Key Laboratory of Material Chemistry for Energy Conversion and Storage (Ministry of Education), Hubei Key Laboratory of Material Chemistry and Service Failure, School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering
Ho Seok Park
School of Chemical Engineering, Sungkyunkwan University (SKKU), 2066, Seobu-ro, Jangan-gu, Suwon, Gyeonggi-do 16419, Republic of Korea
Fei Song
Shanghai Synchrotron Radiation Facility, Shanghai Advanced Research Institute
Bao Yu Xia
State Key Laboratory of New Textile Materials and Advanced Processing, Key Laboratory of Material Chemistry for Energy Conversion and Storage (Ministry of Education), Hubei Key Laboratory of Material Chemistry and Service Failure, School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering