Lateral Adsorbate Interactions Inhibit HCOO- while Promoting CO Selectivity for CO2 Electrocatalysis on Silver.
Ag is a promising catalyst for the production of carbon monoxide (CO) via the electrochemical reduction of carbon dioxide (CO2 ER). Herein, we study the role of the formate (HCOO- ) intermediate *OCHO, aiming to resolve the discrepancy between the theoretical understanding and experimental performance of Ag. We show that the first coupled proton-electron transfer (CPET) step in the CO pathway competes with the Volmer step for formation of *H, whereas this Volmer step is a prerequisite for the formation of *OCHO. We show that *OCHO should form readily on the Ag surface owing to solvation and favorable binding strength. In situ surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) experiments give preliminary evidence of the presence of O-bound bidentate species on polycrystalline Ag during CO2 ER which we attribute to *OCHO. Lateral adsorbate interactions in the presence of *OCHO have a significant influence on the surface coverage of *H, resulting in the inhibition of HCOO- and H2 production and a higher selectivity towards CO.
['Bohra|Divya|D|', 'Ledezma-Yanez|Isis|I|', 'Li|Guanna|G|', 'de Jong|Wiebren|W|', 'Pidko|Evgeny A|EA|', 'Smith|Wilson A|WA|http://orcid.org/0000-0001-7757-5281']
electrocatalysis Raman spectroscopy DFT adsorbate-adsorbate interactions in situ studies