title: Achieving Selective and Efficient Electrocatalytic Activity for CO2 Reduction Using Immobilized Silver Nanoparticles.
abstract: Selective electrochemical reduction of CO2 is one of the most sought-after processes because of the potential to convert a harmful greenhouse gas to a useful chemical. We have discovered that immobilized Ag nanoparticles supported on carbon exhibit enhanced Faradaic efficiency and a lower overpotential for selective reduction of CO2 to CO. These electrocatalysts were synthesized directly on the carbon support by a facile one-pot method using a cysteamine anchoring agent resulting in controlled monodispersed particle sizes. These synthesized Ag/C electrodes showed improved activities, specifically decrease of the overpotential by 300 mV at 1 mA/cm(2), and 4-fold enhanced CO Faradaic efficiency at -0.75 V vs RHE with the optimal particle size of 5 nm compared to polycrystalline Ag foil. DFT calculations enlightened that the specific interaction between Ag nanoparticle and the anchoring agents modified the catalyst surface to have a selectively higher affinity to the intermediate COOH over CO, which effectively lowers the overpotential.
authors.affiliation: Clean Energy Research Center, Korea Institute of Science and Technology , Seoul 02792, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Cheonghee
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.affiliation: Clean Energy Research Center, Korea Institute of Science and Technology , Seoul 02792, Republic of Korea.|Korea University of Science and Technology , Daejeon 34113, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Hyo Sang
authors.initials: HS
authors.lastname: Jeon
authors.affiliation: Graduate School of Energy, Environment, Water, and Sustainability (EEWS), Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST) , Daejeon, 34141, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Taedaehyeong
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Eom
authors.affiliation: Clean Energy Research Center, Korea Institute of Science and Technology , Seoul 02792, Republic of Korea.|Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, Korea University , Seoul 02841, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Michael Shincheon
authors.initials: MS
authors.lastname: Jee
authors.affiliation: Graduate School of Energy, Environment, Water, and Sustainability (EEWS), Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST) , Daejeon, 34141, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Hyungjun
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, Harvard University , Cambridge, Massachusetts 02138, United States.
authors.forename: Cynthia M
authors.initials: CM
authors.lastname: Friend
authors.affiliation: Clean Energy Research Center, Korea Institute of Science and Technology , Seoul 02792, Republic of Korea.|Korea University of Science and Technology , Daejeon 34113, Republic of Korea.|Green School, Korea University , Seoul 02841, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Byoung Koun
authors.initials: BK
authors.lastname: Min
authors.affiliation: Clean Energy Research Center, Korea Institute of Science and Technology , Seoul 02792, Republic of Korea.|Korea University of Science and Technology , Daejeon 34113, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Yun Jeong
authors.initials: YJ
authors.lastname: Hwang