Researchers harness copper versatility to enable control of CO2 reduction products
carbon dioxide concentration rises2 Emissions are accelerating global warming and climate change. But what if scientists could repurpose excess carbon dioxide?2 into potential energy?
Electrochemical reduction is a promising method to achieve this goal. Through this catalyst-driven process, CO2 Converted into carbon monoxide (CO), methane (CH4), ethanol (C2H6O) or formic acid (HCOOH). However, there are still obstacles in trying to achieve industrial-scale production of specific products. This is because in CO2 Reduction,reaction can lead to several potential outcomes. Therefore, scientists are trying ways to influence reaction pathways so that specific products are more likely to be formed.
A team of researchers from Tohoku University, Tokyo University of Science, and Vanderbilt University turned to the versatile metal copper as a catalyst for electrochemical CO2 reduction to achieve controllable product specificity. By controlling the structure of copper at the nanometer scale, they can precisely shape copper into nanoclusters with a diameter of less than 2 nanometers, thereby improving its efficiency as a catalyst.
Details of their research are published in Little science November 28, 2024.
“We explored defect-induced copper nanoclusters as a cost-effective alternative to noble metal nanoclusters, customizing them to produce specific High energy density products.
The team improved the performance of the nanoclusters by deliberately creating defects in the cubic copper structure to create specific active sites. By slightly dislocating some of the copper atoms, they prevented surface-protecting ligands from attaching to certain areas, leaving those spots exposed. These dislocation atoms appear not only at the corners of the cube, but also at its edges, forming an ideal network of CO2 reaction sites.2 reduce. This unique arrangement of copper atoms allowed the team to direct the reaction more efficiently and improve the selectivity and efficiency of the desired product.
Tests show that nanoclusters with a single modified vertex are highly selective for the production of methanol (CH₃OH). However, as the number of defective sites increases, the selectivity shifts toward different products.
“Our study highlights the potential of copper nanoclusters as an affordable source of carbon dioxide2 reduction catalysts, highlighting how their structural design affects product selectivity,” Negishi added.
These advances could drive the development of new functional materials using existing resources, potentially creating a more sustainable future.
2024-12-11 17:48:34