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7 pages, 1785 KiB

Open AccessProceeding Paper

Optimizing a Cu-Ni Nanoalloy-Coated Mesoporous Carbon for Efficient CO₂ Electroreduction †

by Manal B. Alhamdan, Ahmed Bahgat Radwan and Noora Al-Qahtani

Mater. Proc. 2025, 22(1), 2; https://doi.org/10.3390/materproc2025022002 - 16 Jul 2025

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Reducing atmospheric carbon dioxide is a critical global priority. This study investigates the influence of Cu-Ni nanoalloy loading on the CO₂ electroreduction efficiency in the context of mesoporous carbon supports. Current methods struggle when it comes to catalyst efficiency, selectivity, and longevity. By synthesizing copper–nickel nanoparticles through chemical reduction and depositing them on porous carbon, this research aimed to optimize catalyst loading and understand the structure–activity relationships. Catalyst performance was evaluated using chronoamperometry and linear sweep voltammetry (LSV). The results showed that 12 wt% catalyst loading achieved optimal CO₂ reduction, outperforming its 36 wt% counterpart by balancing the catalyst quantity. This study reveals that 12 wt% Cu-Ni loading provides a higher CO₂ reduction current density and greater long-term stability than 36 wt% loading, owing to better nanoparticle dispersion and reduced aggregation. Unlike previous Cu-Ni/mesoporous carbon studies, this work uniquely compares different loadings to directly correlate the structure, electrochemical performance, and catalyst durability. Full article

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21 pages, 3651 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Graphene Oxide-Anchored Cu–Co Catalysts for Efficient Electrochemical Nitrate Reduction

by Haosheng Lan, Yi Zhang, Le Ding, Xin Li, Zhanhong Zhao, Yansen Qu, Yingjie Xia and Xinghua Chang

Materials 2025, 18(11), 2495; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma18112495 - 26 May 2025

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Abstract

Electrocatalytic nitrate reduction to ammonia (ENRA) presents a promising strategy for simultaneous environmental remediation and sustainable ammonia synthesis. In this work, a Cu–Co bimetallic catalyst supported on functionalized reduced graphene oxide (RGO) was systematically designed to achieve efficient and selective ammonia production. Surface oxygen functional groups on graphene oxide (GO) were optimized through alkaline hydrothermal treatments, enhancing the anchoring capacity for metal active sites. Characterization indicated the successful formation of uniform Cu–Co bimetallic heterointerfaces comprising metallic and oxide phases, which significantly improved catalyst stability and performance. Among the studied compositions, Cu₆Co₄/RGO exhibited superior catalytic activity, achieving a remarkable ammonia selectivity of 99.86% and a Faradaic efficiency of 96.54% at −0.6 V (vs. RHE). Long-term electrocatalysis demonstrated excellent durability, with over 90% Faradaic efficiency maintained for ammonia production after 20 h of operation. In situ FTIR analysis revealed that introducing Co effectively promoted water dissociation, facilitating hydrogen generation (*H) and accelerating the transformation of nitrate intermediates. This work offers valuable mechanistic insights and paves the way for the design of highly efficient bimetallic electrocatalysts for nitrate reduction and ammonia electrosynthesis. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Eco-Nanotechnology in Materials)

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15 pages, 2144 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Improving Catalytic Activity towards the Direct Synthesis of H₂O₂ through Cu Incorporation into AuPd Catalysts

by Alexandra Barnes, Richard J. Lewis, David J. Morgan, Thomas E. Davies and Graham J. Hutchings

Catalysts 2022, 12(11), 1396; https://doi.org/10.3390/catal12111396 - 9 Nov 2022

Cited by 9 | Viewed by 3651

Abstract

With a focus on catalysts prepared by an excess-chloride wet impregnation procedure and supported on the zeolite ZSM-5(30), the introduction of low concentrations of tertiary base metals, in particular Cu, into supported AuPd nanoparticles can be observed to enhance catalytic activity towards the direct synthesis of H₂O₂. Indeed the optimal catalyst formulation (1%AuPd_(0.975)Cu_(0.025)/ZSM-5) is able to achieve rates of H₂O₂ synthesis (115 mol_H₂O₂kg_cat⁻¹h⁻¹) approximately 1.7 times that of the bi-metallic analogue (69 mol_H₂O₂kg_cat⁻¹h⁻¹) and rival that previously reported over comparable materials which use Pt as a dopant. Notably, the introduction of Cu at higher loadings results in an inhibition of performance. Detailed analysis by CO-DRFITS and XPS reveals that the improved performance observed over the optimal catalyst can be attributed to the electronic modification of the Pd species and the formation of domains of a mixed Pd²⁺/Pd⁰ oxidation state as well as structural changed within the nanoalloy. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue State of the Art in Molecular Catalysis in Europe)

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11 pages, 5136 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Strained Lattice Gold-Copper Alloy Nanoparticles for Efficient Carbon Dioxide Electroreduction

by Fangfang Chang, Chenguang Wang, Xueli Wu, Yongpeng Liu, Juncai Wei, Zhengyu Bai and Lin Yang

Materials 2022, 15(14), 5064; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma15145064 - 20 Jul 2022

Cited by 6 | Viewed by 2622

Abstract

Electrocatalytic conversion of carbon dioxide (CO₂) into specific renewable fuels is an attractive way to mitigate the greenhouse effect and solve the energy crisis. Au_nCu_100-n/C alloy nanoparticles (Au_nCu_100−n/C NPs) with tunable compositions, a highly active crystal plane and a strained lattice were synthesized by the thermal solvent co-reduction method. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and X-ray diffraction (XRD) results show that Au_nCu_100−n/C catalysts display a subtle lattice strain and dominant (111) crystal plane, which can be adjusted by the alloy composition. Electrochemical results show that Au_nCu_100−n/C alloy catalysts for CO₂ reduction display high catalytic activity; in particular, the Faradaic efficiency of Au₇₅Cu₂₅/C is up to 92.6% for CO at −0.7 V (vs. the reversible hydrogen electrode), which is related to lattice shrinkage and the active facet. This research provides a new strategy with which to design strong and active nanoalloy catalysts with lattice mismatch and main active surfaces for CO₂ reduction reaction. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Properties of Interfaced Materials and Films)

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