Cloride-derived copper electrode for efficient electrochemical reduction of CO2 to ethylene

Abstract The electrochemical reduction of carbon dioxide can convert the greenhouse gas into value-added chemical products or fuels, which provides a promising strategy to address current energy and environmental issues. Increasing the selectivity for C2&C2+ products, particularly ethylene, remains an important goal in this field. We chose cuprous chloride as the catalyst precursor for electrochemical reduction of CO 2 , which efficiently converted carbon dioxide to ethylene. CuCl powder exhibited a maximum ethylene faradaic efficiency (FE) of 37%, ethylene partial current density of 14.8 mA/cm 2 , and selectivity of 57.5% for C2&C2+ products at −1.06 V ( vs . reversible hydrogen electrode, RHE). Electron microcopy (TEM, SEM) and time-resolved ex situ X-ray diffraction (XRD) demonstrated that the catalyst was transformed gradually into a mixed phase of copper and cuprous oxide, with the morphological change into a cubic structure during reduction process. The presence of Cu 1+ and the unique electrode morphology may simultaneously lead to the enhanced electrochemical activity.