Studies on Degradation of Copper Nano Particles in Cathode for CO2 Electrolysis to Organic Compounds

Abstract In the present work, copper nanoparticles are used in cathode electrode and Pt/C in anode electrode of an electrolysis cell for gas phase electroreduction of CO 2 using Nafion 117 as electrolyte. The product analysis of electro-reduction process carried out in HPLC and mass spectroscope reveals formation of carbon monoxide, methane, methanol and ethane along with hydrogen as the major product and traces of C 2 , C 3 alcohols and ketones. Overall faradaic efficiency corresponding to CO 2 reduction product is 39.6%, whereas hydrogen production is suppressed to 4.5% till the ERC operation of 50 minutes. Thereafter efficiency of ERC decreases and hydrogen evolution increases. SEM, EDS and XRD studies of cathode electrodes points out that depletion of CO 2 reduction to CO and CH 4 products with time may be due to dissolution of Cu nano particles from the cathode electrode.

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