Trace Ionic Liquid-Assisted Orientational Growth of Cu O (110) Facets Promote CO Electroreduction to C Products.

Cu O has great advantages for CO electroreduction to C products, of which the activity and selectivity are closely related to its crystal facets. In this work, density functional theory calculation indicated that the (110) facets of Cu O had a lower energy barrier for the C-C coupling compared to the (100) and (111) facets. Therefore, Cu O(110) facets were successfully synthesized with the assistance of trace amounts of the ionic liquid 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium ([Bmim]BF ) by a sample wet-chemical method.

Membrane-free Electrocatalysis of CO to C on CuO/CeO Nanocomposites.

Carbon dioxide electroreduction (CORR) with renewable energy is of great significance to realize carbon neutralization. Traditional electrolysis devices usually need an ion exchange membrane to eliminate the interference of oxygen generated on the anode. Herein, the novel CuO/CeO composite was facilely prepared by anchoring small CuO nanoparticles on the surface of CeO nanocubes.