Real-time in situ monitoring of CO2 electroreduction in the liquid and gas phases by coupled mass spectrometry and localized electrochemistry
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Author(s)
Kucernak, Anthony
Zhang, guohui
cui, youxin
Type
Journal Article
Abstract
The mechanism and dynamics of the CO2 reduction reaction (CO2RR) remain poorly understood, which is largely caused by mass transport limitations and lack of time-correlated product analysis tools. In this work, a custom-built gas accessible membrane electrode (GAME) system is used to comparatively assess the CO2RR behavior of Au and Au−Cu catalysts. The platform achieves high reduction currents (∼ – 50 mA cm–2 at 1.1 V vs RHE) by creating a three-phase boundary interface equipped with an efficient gas-circulation pathway, facilitating rapid mass transport of CO2. The GAME system can also be easily coupled with many other analytical techniques as exemplified by mass spectrometry (MS) and localized ultramicroelectrode (UME) voltammetry to enable real-time and in situ product characterization in the gas and liquid phases, respectively. The gaseous product distribution is explicitly and quantitatively elucidated with high time resolution (on the scale of seconds), allowing for the independent assessment of Tafel slope estimates for the hydrogen (159/168 mV decade–1), ethene (160/170 mV decade–1), and methane (96/100 mV decade–1) evolution reactions. Moreover, the UME is used to simultaneously measure the local pH shift during CO2RR and assess the production of liquid phase species including formate. A positive shift of 0.8 pH unit is observed at a current density of −11 mA cm–2 during the CO2RR.
Date Issued
2022-05-20
Date Acceptance
2022-04-21
Citation
ACS Catalysis, 2022, 12 (10), pp.6180-6190
ISSN
2155-5435
Publisher
American Chemical Society
Start Page
6180
End Page
6190
Journal / Book Title
ACS Catalysis
Volume
12
Issue
10
Copyright Statement
© 2022 The Authors. Published by American Chemical Society. This work is published under CC BY licence.
License URL
Sponsor
Engineering & Physical Science Research Council (E
Engineering & Physical Science Research Council (E
Identifier
https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acscatal.2c00609
Grant Number
EP/P024807/1
DJR01350
Subjects
0302 Inorganic Chemistry
0305 Organic Chemistry
0904 Chemical Engineering
Publication Status
Published
Date Publish Online
2022-05-10