Effects of Substrate and Polymer Encapsulation on CO2 Electroreduction by Immobilized Indium(III) Protoporphyrin.

Heterogenization of molecular catalysts for CO2 electroreduction has attracted significant research activity, due to the combined advantages of homogeneous and heterogeneous catalysts. In this work, we demonstrate the strong influence of the nature of the substrate on the selectivity and reactivity of electrocatalytic CO2 reduction, as well as on the stability of the studied immobilized indium(III) protoporphyrin IX, for electrosynthesis of formic acid. Additionally, we investigate strategies to improve the CO2 reduction by tuning the chemical functionality of the substrate surface by means of electrochemical and plasma treatment and by catalyst encapsulation in polymer membranes. We point out several underlying factors that affect the performance of electrocatalytic CO2 reduction. The insights gained here allow one to optimize heterogenized molecular systems for enhanced CO2 electroreduction without modification of the catalyst itself.

Quantum and electrochemical interplays in hydrogenated graphene.

The design of electrochemically gated graphene field-effect transistors for detecting charged species in real time, greatly depends on our ability to understand and maintain a low level of electrochemical current. Here, we exploit the interplay between the electrical in-plane transport and the electrochemical activity of graphene. We found that the addition of one H-sp3 defect per hundred thousand carbon atoms reduces the electron transfer rate of the graphene basal plane by more than five times while preserving its excellent carrier mobility. Remarkably, the quantum capacitance provides insight into the changes of the electronic structure of graphene upon hydrogenation, which predicts well the suppression of the electrochemical activity based on the non-adiabatic theory of electron transfer. Thus, our work unravels the interplay between the quantum transport and electrochemical kinetics of graphene and suggests hydrogenated graphene as a potent material for sensing applications with performances going beyond previously reported graphene transistor-based sensors.

The Importance of Cannizzaro-Type Reactions during Electrocatalytic Reduction of Carbon Dioxide.

A seemingly catalytically inactive electrode, boron-doped diamond (BDD), is found to be active for CO2 and CO reduction to formaldehyde and even methane. At very cathodic potentials, formic acid and methanol are formed as well. However, these products are the result of base-catalyzed Cannizzaro-type disproportionation reactions. A local alkaline environment near the electrode surface, caused by the hydrogen evolution reaction, initiates aldehyde disproportionation promoted by hydroxide ions, which leads to the formation of the corresponding carboxylic acid and alcohol. This phenomenon is strongly influenced by the electrolyte pH and buffer capacity and not limited to BDD or formaldehyde, but can be generalized to different electrode materials and to C2 and C3 aldehydes as well. The importance of these reactions is emphasized as the formation of acids and alcohols is often ascribed to direct CO2 reduction products. The results obtained here may explain the concomitant formation of acids and alcohols often observed during CO2 reduction.

Electrocatalytic reduction of carbon dioxide to carbon monoxide and methane at an immobilized cobalt protoporphyrin.

The electrochemical conversion of carbon dioxide and water into useful products is a major challenge in facilitating a closed carbon cycle. Here we report a cobalt protoporphyrin immobilized on a pyrolytic graphite electrode that reduces carbon dioxide in an aqueous acidic solution at relatively low overpotential (0.5 V), with an efficiency and selectivity comparable to the best porphyrin-based electrocatalyst in the literature. While carbon monoxide is the main reduction product, we also observe methane as by-product. The results of our detailed pH-dependent studies are explained consistently by a mechanism in which carbon dioxide is activated by the cobalt protoporphyrin through the stabilization of a radical intermediate, which acts as Brønsted base. The basic character of this intermediate explains how the carbon dioxide reduction circumvents a concerted proton-electron transfer mechanism, in contrast to hydrogen evolution. Our results and their mechanistic interpretations suggest strategies for designing improved catalysts.

Electrocatalytic Nitrate Reduction by a Cobalt Protoporphyrin Immobilized on a Pyrolytic Graphite Electrode.

A series of simple molecular catalysts, i.e., Co(III), Fe(II), Ni(II), Cu(II), and Rh(II) protoporphyrins (metal-PP), directly adsorbed on pyrolytic graphite have been utilized for catalyzing the electrochemical reduction of nitrate. These catalysts are studied by combining cyclic voltammetry with online electrochemical mass spectrometry (OLEMS) to monitor volatile products and online ion chromatography (IC) to detect ionic products in the aqueous electrolyte solution. Among all investigated porphyrins, the Co-based protoporphyrin shows the highest selectivity toward hydroxylamine (NH2OH), which made it the catalyst of primary interest in the article. The reactivity and selectivity of the immobilized Co-protoporphyrin depend significantly on pH, with more acidic conditions leading to higher reactivity and higher selectivity toward hydroxylamine over ammonia. Potential controlled electrolysis results show that the potential also greatly influences the selectivity: at pH 1, hydroxylamine is the main product around -0.5 V with approximately 100% selectivity, while hydroxylamine and ammonia are both formed at a more negative potential, -0.75 V. The mechanism of the reaction is discussed, invoking of the possibility of two pathways for hydroxylamine/ammonia formation: a sequential pathway in which hydroxylamine is produced as an intermediate, with ammonia subsequently formed through the reduction of NH2OH/NH3OH(+), and a parallel pathway in which the formation of hydroxylamine and ammonia is derived from a common intermediate.

Electrocatalytic hydrogenation of 5-hydroxymethylfurfural in acidic solution.

Electrocatalytic hydrogenation of 5-hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF) is studied on solid metal electrodes in acidic solution (0.5 M H2 SO4 ) by correlating voltammetry with on-line HPLC product analysis. Three soluble products from HMF hydrogenation are distinguished: 2,5-dihydroxymethylfuran (DHMF), 2,5-dihydroxymethyltetrahydrofuran (DHMTHF), and 2,5-dimethyl-2,3-dihydrofuran (DMDHF). Based on the dominant reaction products, the metal catalysts are divided into three groups: (1) metals mainly forming DHMF (Fe, Ni, Cu, and Pb), (2) metals forming DHMF and DMDHF depending on the applied potentials (Co, Ag, Au, Cd, Sb, and Bi), and (3) metals forming mainly DMDHF (Pd, Pt, Al, Zn, In, and Sb). Nickel and antimony are the most active catalysts for DHMF (0.95 mM cm(-2) at ca. -0.35 VRHE and -20 mA cm(-2) ) and DMDHF (0.7 mM cm(-2) at -0.6 VRHE and -5 mA cm(-2) ), respectively. The pH of the solution plays an important role in the hydrogenation of HMF: acidic condition lowers the activation energy for HMF hydro-genation and hydrogenates the furan ring further to tetrahydrofuran.