Ag-Precipitated CuO Nanospheres for Enhanced Electrochemical Reduction of CO 2.

An electrochemical CO₂ reduction reaction (CO₂RR) is an effective way to reduce greenhouse gases by converting CO₂ into high-value-added chemical products using electricity generated from renewable energy. In this paper, a Cu₂O spherical catalyst was prepared by ascorbic acid reduction. The precipitated Cu-Ag spherical catalyst (P-CuO-Ag) was successfully prepared by calcining Cu₂O-Ag with the introduction of an Ag component as the substrate. During the electrochemical reduction of CO₂, the FE of the P-CuO-Ag catalyst for C₂H₄ at a potential of −1.1 V vs. RHE was as high as 39.8%, which was nearly twice that of the CuO catalyst, while the local current density J_C2H4 for C₂H₄ reached 6 mA cm⁻². The incorporation of Ag gives the spherical CuO catalyst higher electrochemical activity and better kinetic performance than the catalyst without Ag. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]