Volume 136, Issue 12 e202315922
Forschungsartikel

Pulse Electrolysis Turns on CO2 Methanation through N-Confused Cupric Porphyrin

Wei Hua

Wei Hua

Soochow Institute for Energy and Materials Innovations, Key Laboratory of Advanced Carbon Materials and Wearable Energy Technologies of Jiangsu Province, College of Energy, Soochow University, Suzhou, 215006 P. R. China

Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Advanced Negative Carbon Technologies, Soochow University, Suzhou, 215006 P. R. China

These contributed equally: Wei Hua, Tingting Liu, Zhangyi Zheng.

Search for more papers by this author
Tingting Liu

Tingting Liu

Soochow Institute for Energy and Materials Innovations, Key Laboratory of Advanced Carbon Materials and Wearable Energy Technologies of Jiangsu Province, College of Energy, Soochow University, Suzhou, 215006 P. R. China

Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Advanced Negative Carbon Technologies, Soochow University, Suzhou, 215006 P. R. China

These contributed equally: Wei Hua, Tingting Liu, Zhangyi Zheng.

Search for more papers by this author
Zhangyi Zheng

Zhangyi Zheng

Soochow Institute for Energy and Materials Innovations, Key Laboratory of Advanced Carbon Materials and Wearable Energy Technologies of Jiangsu Province, College of Energy, Soochow University, Suzhou, 215006 P. R. China

Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Advanced Negative Carbon Technologies, Soochow University, Suzhou, 215006 P. R. China

These contributed equally: Wei Hua, Tingting Liu, Zhangyi Zheng.

Search for more papers by this author
Huihong Yuan

Huihong Yuan

Soochow Institute for Energy and Materials Innovations, Key Laboratory of Advanced Carbon Materials and Wearable Energy Technologies of Jiangsu Province, College of Energy, Soochow University, Suzhou, 215006 P. R. China

Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Advanced Negative Carbon Technologies, Soochow University, Suzhou, 215006 P. R. China

Search for more papers by this author
Long Xiao

Long Xiao

Soochow Institute for Energy and Materials Innovations, Key Laboratory of Advanced Carbon Materials and Wearable Energy Technologies of Jiangsu Province, College of Energy, Soochow University, Suzhou, 215006 P. R. China

Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Advanced Negative Carbon Technologies, Soochow University, Suzhou, 215006 P. R. China

Search for more papers by this author
Kun Feng

Kun Feng

Institute of Functional Nano & Soft Materials (FUNSOM), Jiangsu Key Laboratory for Carbon-Based Functional Materials & Devices, Soochow University, Suzhou, 215123 P. R. China

Search for more papers by this author
Jingshu Hui

Corresponding Author

Jingshu Hui

Soochow Institute for Energy and Materials Innovations, Key Laboratory of Advanced Carbon Materials and Wearable Energy Technologies of Jiangsu Province, College of Energy, Soochow University, Suzhou, 215006 P. R. China

Search for more papers by this author
Zhao Deng

Corresponding Author

Zhao Deng

Soochow Institute for Energy and Materials Innovations, Key Laboratory of Advanced Carbon Materials and Wearable Energy Technologies of Jiangsu Province, College of Energy, Soochow University, Suzhou, 215006 P. R. China

Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Advanced Negative Carbon Technologies, Soochow University, Suzhou, 215006 P. R. China

Search for more papers by this author
Mutian Ma

Mutian Ma

Soochow Institute for Energy and Materials Innovations, Key Laboratory of Advanced Carbon Materials and Wearable Energy Technologies of Jiangsu Province, College of Energy, Soochow University, Suzhou, 215006 P. R. China

Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Advanced Negative Carbon Technologies, Soochow University, Suzhou, 215006 P. R. China

Search for more papers by this author
Jian Cheng

Jian Cheng

Soochow Institute for Energy and Materials Innovations, Key Laboratory of Advanced Carbon Materials and Wearable Energy Technologies of Jiangsu Province, College of Energy, Soochow University, Suzhou, 215006 P. R. China

Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Advanced Negative Carbon Technologies, Soochow University, Suzhou, 215006 P. R. China

Search for more papers by this author
Daqi Song

Daqi Song

Soochow Institute for Energy and Materials Innovations, Key Laboratory of Advanced Carbon Materials and Wearable Energy Technologies of Jiangsu Province, College of Energy, Soochow University, Suzhou, 215006 P. R. China

Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Advanced Negative Carbon Technologies, Soochow University, Suzhou, 215006 P. R. China

Search for more papers by this author
Fenglei Lyu

Fenglei Lyu

Soochow Institute for Energy and Materials Innovations, Key Laboratory of Advanced Carbon Materials and Wearable Energy Technologies of Jiangsu Province, College of Energy, Soochow University, Suzhou, 215006 P. R. China

Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Advanced Negative Carbon Technologies, Soochow University, Suzhou, 215006 P. R. China

Search for more papers by this author
Jun Zhong

Jun Zhong

Institute of Functional Nano & Soft Materials (FUNSOM), Jiangsu Key Laboratory for Carbon-Based Functional Materials & Devices, Soochow University, Suzhou, 215123 P. R. China

Search for more papers by this author
Yang Peng

Corresponding Author

Yang Peng

Soochow Institute for Energy and Materials Innovations, Key Laboratory of Advanced Carbon Materials and Wearable Energy Technologies of Jiangsu Province, College of Energy, Soochow University, Suzhou, 215006 P. R. China

Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Advanced Negative Carbon Technologies, Soochow University, Suzhou, 215006 P. R. China

Search for more papers by this author
First published: 29 January 2024

Abstract

Breaking the D4h symmetry in the square-planar M−N4 configuration of macrocycle molecular catalysts has witnessed enhanced electrocatalytic activity, but at the expense of electrochemical stability. Herein, we hypothesize that the lability of the active Cu−N3 motifs in the N-confused copper (II) tetraphenylporphyrin (CuNCP) could be overcome by applying pulsed potential electrolysis (PPE) during electrocatalytic carbon dioxide reduction. We find that applying PPE can indeed enhance the CH4 selectivity on CuNCP by 3 folds to reach the partial current density of 170 mA cm−2 at >60 % Faradaic efficiency (FE) in flow cell. However, combined ex situ X-ray diffraction (XRD), transmission electron microscope (TEM), and in situ X-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS), infrared (IR), Raman, scanning electrochemical microscopy (SECM) characterizations reveal that, in a prolonged time scale, the decomplexation of CuNCP is unavoidable, and the promoted water dissociation under high anodic bias with lowered pH and enriched protons facilitates successive hydrogenation of *CO on the irreversibly reduced Cu nanoparticles, leading to the improved CH4 selectivity. As a key note, this study signifies the adaption of electrolytic protocol to the catalyst structure for tailoring local chemical environment towards efficient CO2 reduction.

Conflict of interests

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Data Availability Statement

The data that support the findings of this study are available in the supplementary material of this article.

The full text of this article hosted at iucr.org is unavailable due to technical difficulties.