Light-switchable catalytic activity of Cu for oxygen reduction reaction

doi:10.1007/s11706-020-0521-9

Front. Mater. Sci.

2020, Vol. 14

Issue (4) : 481-487 https://doi.org/10.1007/s11706-020-0521-9

COMMUNICATION

Light-switchable catalytic activity of Cu for oxygen reduction reaction

Yue ZHANG¹, Yihong YU¹, Xiankai FU¹, Zhisen LIU², Yinglei LIU¹, Song LI^1,³(

)

¹. Key Lab for Anisotropy and Texture of Materials (MOE), School of Materials Science and Engineering, Northeastern University, Shenyang 110819, China
². Liaoning Academy of Analytical Sciences, Shenyang 110015, China
³. Research Center for Metallic Wires, Northeastern University, Shenyang 110819, China

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Abstract

The surface reactivity of metals is fundamentally dependent on the local electronic structure generally tailored by atomic compositions and configurations during the synthesis. Herein, we demonstrate that Cu, which is inert for oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) due to the fully occupied d-orbital, could be activated by applying a visible-light irradiation at ambient temperature. The ORR current is increased to 3.3 times higher in the potential range between −0.1 and 0.4 V under the light of 400 mW·cm⁻², and the activity enhancement is proportional to the light intensity. Together with the help of the first-principle calculation, the remarkably enhanced electrocatalytic activity is expected to stem mainly from the decreased metal–adsorbate binding by photoexcitation. This finding provides an additional degree of freedom for controlling and manipulating the surface reactivity of metal catalysts besides materials strategy.

Keywords photochemistry surface reactivity oxygen adsorption copper

Corresponding Author(s): Song LI

Online First Date: 25 September 2020 Issue Date: 09 December 2020

Cite this article:

Yue ZHANG,Yihong YU,Xiankai FU, et al. Light-switchable catalytic activity of Cu for oxygen reduction reaction[J]. Front. Mater. Sci., 2020, 14(4): 481-487.

URL:

https://academic.hep.com.cn/foms/EN/10.1007/s11706-020-0521-9
https://academic.hep.com.cn/foms/EN/Y2020/V14/I4/481

Fig.1 SEM images showing the morphology of electrodeposited porous Cu foam using hydrogen bubbles as the template: (a) low magnification; (b) high magnification. (c) The i–t plot of porous Cu electrode in the dark and under light illumination with intensity of 400 mW·cm⁻². (d) Influence of light illumination on ORR current under different applied potentials. The measurement was carried out in 0.1 mol·L⁻¹ KOH.

Fig.2 (a) The i–t plot of Cu electrode under light illumination of different intensities from 0.05 to 0.7 W·cm⁻² measured at 0.1 V vs. RHE. (b) Average ORR current over Cu electrode in the dark and under monochromatic light of different wavelength and same intensity. The wavelength at the half-intensity of the peak is about 15 nm.

Fig.3 (a) Charge difference density of Cu(1 1 1) with a single layer of adsorbed oxygen atoms. The blue and yellow regions represent the electron loss and the accumulation, respectively. (b) The projected DOS of oxygen layer and top layer of Cu(1 1 1).

Fig.4 Schematic influence of light irradiation on the energy level distribution of metals: (a) In the dark condition; (b) Under light irradiation, the electrons are promoted to higher levels in the metal Cu and unoccupied anti-orbitals.

Fig. S1 XRD patterns of the porous Cu before and after electrochemical measurement.

Fig. S2 Tafel plots of the Cu electrode under light illumination of different intensities.

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