Scientists Develop Innovative Hollow-Fiber Copper Penetration Electrode for Effective CO₂ Electroreduction

The reduction of CO2 into valuable chemical fuels through electrochemical conversion, powered by renewable electrical energy, plays a crucial role in both reducing net CO2 emissions and addressing energy consumption.

Despite advancements in CO2 electroreduction, the formation of carbonates can lead to significant CO2 loss. To overcome this issue, the conversion of CO2 in acidic electrolytes has emerged as an attractive solution. However, achieving selective reduction remains a challenge.

In a recent publication in Energy & Environmental Science, a team of researchers from the Shanghai Advanced Research Institute (SARI) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences introduced a novel approach. They designed a Cu hollow fiber penetration electrode that effectively inhibits the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) while electroreducing CO2 in strong acid.

The unique penetration effect induced by the Cu hollow fiber allows for an abundant supply of CO2 molecules to reach the Cu active sites. The Cu surface exhibits a high coverage of CO2, which suppresses HER and facilitates the reduction of CO2 into C2+ products.

As a result, they achieved a single-pass conversion rate of CO2 exceeding 51%, with a C2+ Faradaic efficiency of 73.4% and a partial current density of 2.2 A cm-2 in an acidic solution with a pH of 0.71. The performance of the Cu penetration electrode approached or even surpassed that of state-of-the-art Cu-based catalysts.

This research represents a significant step forward in the design and development of new electrode configurations for the electroreduction of CO2 into high-value C2+ chemicals, with potential for scalable applications.

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