Design of Cu-based Electro-Catalysts for Renewable Fuels Production through CO2 Reduction

Electrochemistry is a very promising and appealing technology able to accomplish the conversion of renewable sources into fuels for energy applications in a green way, alternative to the traditional fossil fuels, such as the CO2 reduction reaction (CO2RR) into valuable C1-C2+ products. However, the possibility of exploiting these catalytic routes to produce fuels at large scale is still strongly affected by the selection of the best catalysts and the optimization of the process parameters. In this context, different Cu oxides (selected for their strong coordination ability with CO intermediates)2 and Cu-containing mixed Ni-Co-Zn ferrites were synthesized following different soft-chemistry approaches (i.e., co-precipitation, hydro/solvothermal, sol-gel routes), by varying the Cu oxidation state, the chemical surrounding, and the final morphology (i.e., size/shape, aspect ratio, crystal planes orientation). In particular, in the case of the mixed ferrites, different degrees of Cu-substitution were investigated.3 The most promising Cu-containing compounds were deeply characterized, evidencing their morphological and physicochemical properties, and compared with reference substrates. This way, an effective screening of the fundamental properties necessary for maximizing their catalytic performances in electro-CO2RR was achieved, monitoring how changes at the catalyst and process parameters level might enhance the yield of conversion and selectivity towards final products. References: [1] A.R. Woldu, Z. Huang, P. Zhao, L. Hu, D. Astruc, Coord. Chem. Rev. 2022, 454, 214340. [2] R.-Z. Zhang, B.-Y. Wu, Q. Li, L.-L. Lu, W. Shi, P. Cheng, Coord. Chem. Rev. 2020, 422, 213436. [3] R. Nisticò, R. Mantovan, M. Cantoni, C. Rinaldi, M. Malandrino, S. Mostoni, M. D’Arienzo, B. Di Credico, R. Scotti, J. Alloys. Compd. 2024, 981, 173628.