Do Cu Substrates Participate in Bi Electrocatalytic CO₂ Reduction?

Abstract

Bi based electrocatalysts for CO2 reduction have recently attracted much research attention. Although Cu substrates were mainly used in these material investigations, whether the Cu substrates act as the CO2 reduction electrocatalysts is questionable, and yet disregarded. Herein to comprehensively investigate the influence of Cu substrate on the electrochemical performance, we electro‐deposited Bi catalysts on Cu foams. It was found that during the whole process, the morphology and composition of Bi/Cu electrocatalysts varied, indicating that Cu acted as not only the electrode substrates but also the active materials for CO2 reduction. After optimization, Bi/Cu materials achieved high activity of 59.7 mA cm−2 and selectivity of 95% for CO2 converted formate. Our work provides experimental evidence for the material design and optimization of Bi‐based materials for CO2 reduction.

Electro‐Synthesis of Organic Compounds with Heterogeneous Catalysis

“…[195] Electrodeposited Bi catalysts were electrodeposited on Cu foams by Li et al to study the influence of Cu substrates on electrochemical performance. [196] Cu not only acts as electrode substrates but also serves as the material actively reducing CO 2 , resulting in Bi/Cu electrocatalysts varied in their morphology and composition. The optimized Bi/Cu materials thus achieve a high activity of 59.7 mA cm −2 and a high selectivity of 95%.…”

Effect of Explicit Water Molecules on the Electrochemical Hydrogenation of CO2 on Sn(112)

“…There have been many studies on the mechanism of CO 2 reduction on different electrode materials, especially the metal and metal oxide supported electrodes, to pursue an efficient conversion of CO 2 [8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20]. Most electrochemical reactions are carried out in an aqueous environment, so it is necessary to understand the basic chemical processes of CO 2 electrochemical hydrogenation, including the solvation effect and solvent molecules participating in the chemical transformation.…”