Highly Selective Electrocatalytic Reduction of Carbon Dioxide to Ethylene on CuCl-derived Cu

Traditional fossil energy consumption gives rise to the increase of CO2 emissions, and then causes the greenhouse effect and other global issues. The electrocatalytic reduction of CO2 into fuels and chemicals, which has been attracted much attention owing to its advantageous ability, is an effective way to solve the energy crisis and weaken the greenhouse effect. However, the main products of CO2 reduction are the two-electron products such as CO and HCOOH, and the multielectron products are rare. Here, the CuCl-derived Cu/Cu foil electrode was prepared by the electrodeposition method and tested the electrocatalytic performance for the electrocatalytic reduction of CO2. The Faradaic effciency of C2H4 over the CuCl-derived Cu reaches 25% at -1.4 V vs. RHE, which is much higher than that of Cu2O-derived Cu and CuO-derived Cu. The electrodeposition time for the CuCl-derived Cu/Cu foil electrode was further researched. With the optimum electrodeposition time of 10 min, the Faradaic effciency of C2H4 can be reached the highest. Compared with the Na2SO4 and K2CO3 electrolyte, the KHCO3 electrolyte is more beneficial to the CO2 reduction and reveals higher electrocatalytic activity. The introduction of CuCl-derived Cu can be enhanced the electrocatalytic performance for the CO2 reduction and contributed to the C-C coupling for the production of C2H4. The results of this study can provide strong support for achieving the goal of “carbon peaking and carbon neutral”