(415j) Electrochemical Conversion of CO2 from Flue Gas on Sn-Coated Cu2O Nanoparticles

Flue gas contains 8-10% CO2, is ubiquitous and contributes dramatically to the global warming effect. Furthermore, CO2 from flue gas can be viewed as potential hydrocarbon feedstock since it is concentrated more than in the ambient air. Electrochemical conversion of CO2 in general is thus of great interest and has been attempted with high Faradaic efficiencies. However, flue gas contains other components, such as acidic oxides of sulfur and nitrogen, that will degrade the performance, selectivity and durability of the catalyst. The proposed work investigates in detail using electrochemical studies, gas product composition, TEM, XRD, NAP-XPS and Raman the evolution of Sn-coated Cu2O nanocube catalysts. We hypothesize that SnO2 coating can prevent SO2 from attacking and degrading Cu2O catalyst by forming thin passivating film and resulting in durable, albeit less active, CO2 electrochemical catalysts in flue gas.