Selective and efficient conversion of carbon dioxide (CO2) to a reusable form of carbon is essential for sustainable production of fuel/chemical feedstocks. It is also important for balancing nature’s carbon cycle to mitigate the negative impacts of overly-produced CO2. Electrochemical reduction method has received a lot attention due to its ability to reduce CO2 to CO as well as some other hydrocarbons on different metal surface. We developed ultrathin Au nanowires (NWs) CO2 reduction catalyst to transform CO2 to CO selectively and efficiently. These NWs catalyze CO2 reduction to CO in aqueous 0.5 M KHCO3 at an onset potential of -0.2 V (vs. reversible hydrogen electrode). Faradaic efficiency (FE) can reach as high as 94% and stays at this level for 6 h without any noticeable activity change. Its mechanism has been proposed and proved by DFT calculation.

Gold nanowires as an efficient and durable catalyst for CO2 reduction

249th National Meeting (2015)

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