Benchmarking the Electrochemical CO2 Reduction on Polycrystalline Copper Foils: The Importance of Microstructure Versus Applied Potential

Simone Asperti, Ruud Hendrikx, Yaiza Gonzalez-Garcia, Ruud Kortlever*

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticleScientificpeer-review

5 Citations (Scopus)
48 Downloads (Pure)

Abstract

Copper is one of the most promising catalysts for the CO2 reduction reaction (CO2RR) due to its unique capability of producing multicarbon products in appreciable quantities. Most of the CO2RR research efforts have been directed towards the development of new electrocatalysts to either increase product selectivities or decrease overpotentials. In contrast, only a few studies have systematically tested or benchmarked CO2RR performances of electrocatalysts. In this paper, for the first time, the performances of five different polycrystalline copper foils purchased from different suppliers are benchmarked for their CO2RR performance. Their differences are characterized in terms of microstructural features and the effect that these microstructural properties have on the electrocatalytic behavior during potentiostatic CO2RR experiments are evaluated. It is shown that the potential applied is the dominant factor controlling CO2RR selectivities, leading to the conclusion that microstructural properties of polycrystalline copper electrodes have a negligible effect on the outcome of CO2RR experiments.

Original languageEnglish
Article numbere202200540
Number of pages8
JournalChemCatChem
Volume14
Issue number21
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2022

Keywords

  • applied potential
  • CORR
  • electrocatalysis
  • microstructure
  • polycrystalline copper

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Benchmarking the Electrochemical CO2 Reduction on Polycrystalline Copper Foils: The Importance of Microstructure Versus Applied Potential'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this