Copper–Nickel Tandem Catalysts for Selective Reduction of Carbon Dioxide to Ethylene by Stabilization of Cu+ via Tannic Acid
Year: 2025
Type: article
Abstract: Electrochemical carbon dioxide reduction reaction (CO2RR) provides an effective method to convert CO2 into valuable C2+ products (e.g., C2H4) while mitigating atmospheric CO2 emissions. However, the C2+ performance is severely restricted by the sluggish CC coupling step during CO2RR. To this end, a tandem catalyst (namely Ni–NC/CuTA [TA = tannic acid]) comprising Ni, N‐doped carbon (Ni–NC), and TA‐modified copper‐based component (CuTA) is developed. Ni–NC component is primarily responsible for reduction of CO2 to CO intermediates, which facilitate CO dimerization through improving the local CO coverage. CuTA component mainly executes CC coupling to boost C2H4 production in which Cu+ species stabilized by TA molecules synergize with Cu0 species to expediate CC coupling during CO2RR. The optimal Ni–NC/CuTA catalyst produces C2H4 in a Faraday efficiency (FEC2H4) of 38.9% at −1.0 V (vs RHE, RHE = reversible hydrogen electrode) in a flow cell, surpassing the non‐tandem counterpart of CuTA (FEC2H4 of 23.9%) and XC‐72/CuTA (FEC2H4 of 19.9%), as well as the TA‐free Ni–NC/Cu catalyst (FEC2H4 of 27.6%). This work showcases that integration of tandem catalysis with Cu+/Cu0 synergism offers an efficient approach to accelerate CC coupling toward C2+ products.
Authors: Guan‐Rong Zhu, Zhen‐Long Wang, Xue‐Han Guan, Huan‐Chuan Hu, Hai‐Bin Zhu
Institution: Southeast University
Language: English
Field: Energy
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: bronze
Award: G4020924293
OpenAlex ID: W4408464213