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Acetaldehyde as an Intermediate in the Electroreduction of Carbon Monoxide to Ethanol on Oxide‐Derived Copper |
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| Authors: | Erlend Bertheussen Dr. Arnau Verdaguer‐Casadevall Dr. Davide Ravasio Dr. Joseph H. Montoya Daniel B. Trimarco Claudie Roy Dr. Sebastian Meier Prof. Dr. Jürgen Wendland Prof. Dr. Jens K. Nørskov Prof. Dr. Ifan E. L. Stephens Prof. Dr. Ib Chorkendorff |
| Affiliation: | 1. Department of Physics, Technical University of Denmark, Lyngby, Denmark;2. Carlsberg Laboratory, K?benhavn V, Denmark;3. SUNCAT Center for Catalysis and Interface Science, Department of Chemical Engineering, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA;4. Department of Chemistry, Technical University of Denmark, Lyngby, Denmark;5. SUNCAT Center for Catalysis and Interface Science, SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, Menlo Park, CA, USA;6. Department of Mechanical Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Cambridge, MA, USA |
| Abstract: | Oxide‐derived copper (OD‐Cu) electrodes exhibit unprecedented CO reduction performance towards liquid fuels, producing ethanol and acetate with >50 % Faradaic efficiency at ?0.3 V (vs. RHE). By using static headspace‐gas chromatography for liquid phase analysis, we identify acetaldehyde as a minor product and key intermediate in the electroreduction of CO to ethanol on OD‐Cu electrodes. Acetaldehyde is produced with a Faradaic efficiency of ≈5 % at ?0.33 V (vs. RHE). We show that acetaldehyde forms at low steady‐state concentrations, and that free acetaldehyde is difficult to detect in alkaline solutions using NMR spectroscopy, requiring alternative methods for detection and quantification. Our results represent an important step towards understanding the CO reduction mechanism on OD‐Cu electrodes. |
| Keywords: | analytical chemistry catalysis electrochemistry energy conversion materials science |