Photoconversion of Carbon Dioxide and Water to Formate on Copper and Iron Mixed Oxide Catalysts Academic Article uri icon

abstract

  • Solar conversion of carbon dioxide and water to value-added chemicals remains a challenge. A number of solar-active catalysts have been reported but still suffer from low selectivity, poor energy efficiency, and instability, and fail to drive simultaneous water oxidation. Herein, we report CuFeO2 and CuO mixed p-type catalysts fabricated via a widely employed electroplating of earth-abundant cupric and ferric ions followed by annealing under atmospheric air. The composite electrodes exhibited onset potentials at +0.9 V vs. RHE in CO2-purged bicarbonate solution and converted CO2 to formate with over 90% selectivity under simulated solar light (Air Mass 1.5, 100 mWcm-2). Wired CuFeO2/CuO photocathode and Pt anode couples produced formate over 1 week at a solar-to-formate energy conversion efficiency of ~1% (selectivity >90%) without any external bias while O2 was evolved from water. Isotope and nuclear magnetic resonance analyses confirmed the simultaneous production of formate and O2 at the stand-alone couples.

published proceedings

  • ECS Meeting Abstracts

author list (cited authors)

  • Kang, U., Han, D. S., Yoon, S. H., Abdel-Wahab, A., & Park, H.

citation count

  • 0

complete list of authors

  • Kang, Unseock||Han, Dong Suk||Yoon, Sun Hee||Abdel-Wahab, Ahmed||Park, Hyunwoong

publication date

  • September 2016