Abstract: There is a growing interest in developing high-performance catalysts for the electrochemical reduction of carbon dioxide (CO2) to address the increasingly serious impacts of global climate change. In this talk, we report on a novel nanostructured thin film comprised of Cu nanoparticles and reduced graphene oxide (rGO), Cu nanodendrites, and an advanced three-dimensional nanoporous gold (Au) electrode for the efficient electrochemical reduction of CO2. The Cu/rGO nanocomposite was formed via the electrochemical reduction of a mixture of copper and graphene oxide (GO) precursors. The effects of an applied potential on the electrochemical reduction of CO2 were investigated using linear sweep voltammetric and chronoamperometric techniques. Carbon monoxide, methane and formate were found as the primary products based on gas chromatography and high-performance liquid chromatography analysis. The unique Cu nanodendrites were formed when an electrodeposited Cu thin film was thermally treated in the presence of a mixture of CuSO4 and H2SO4. The kinetics of the CO2 reduction reaction at the Cu nanodendrites surface was investigated using in situ electrochemical ATR-FTIR spectroscopy. The formed products were further confirmed by proton nuclear magnetic resonance (1H NMR) spectroscopy. Lastly, the fabricated nanoporous Au electrode exhibited a large electrochemically active surface area, high stability and superb catalytic activity for the electrochemical reduction of CO2 in an aqueous solution with a high Faradaic efficiency. The critical roles of nanostructured surfaces in the electrochemical reduction of CO2 is discussed.

Keywords: Electrocatalysis; nanomaterials; CO2 reduction.

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