02271nas a2200229   4500008004100000022001400041245012400055210006900179260000900248300001400257490000700271520145500278100002201733700001601755700001501771700002101786700002701807700002201834700002801856700002501884856013201909       2024                        eng d  a0897-475600aUnraveling the cooperative mechanisms in ultralow copper-loaded WC@NGC for enhanced CO2 electroreduction to acetic acid0 aUnraveling the cooperative mechanisms in ultralow copperloaded W  cMAR   a3464-34760 v363 a<p>
	Electrochemical CO2 reduction reaction (eCO(2)RR) has been explored on tungsten carbide (WC) nanoparticles embedded on N-doped graphitic carbon (NGC), demonstrating excellent activity toward the formation of acetic acid at an extremely lower potential. The activity has been further enhanced by loading ultralow copper sites into the catalyst system, exhibiting 80.02% Faradaic efficiency (FE) toward acetic acid at an applied potential of -0.3 V (vs RHE). Potential-dependent in situ infrared (IR), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), Raman spectroscopy, ex situ extended X-ray absorption fine structure (EXAFS) studies, and computational analysis confirm that synergy between uniformly dispersed Cu atoms and WC lattice plays a crucial role in the formation of acetic acid with high FE at a lower potential. It has been observed that the W atom of WC strongly chemisorbs CO2 with a significant change in the C-O bond length and the O-C-O bond angle, in contrast to weaker adsorption on Cu-based catalyst surfaces. The presence of a Cu site enhances the adsorption of CO2, thereby increasing the possibility of C-C coupling kinetically. Most importantly, hydrogen evolution predominates on the catalyst's surface at higher applied potentials (-0.5 to -1.1 V vs RHE), elucidating the mechanism underlying enhanced charge transfer between copper and WC, a phenomenon ascertained through in situ IR spectroscopy and ex situ XPS analysis</p>
1 aBagchi, Debabrata1 aRiyaz, Mohd1 aRaj, Jithu1 aRoy, Soumyabrata1 aSingh, Ashutosh, Kumar1 aCherevotan, Arjun1 aVinod, Chathakudath, P.1 aPeter, Sebastian, C.  uhttps://library.ncl.res.in/content/unraveling-cooperative-mechanisms-ultralow-copper-loaded-wcngc-enhanced-co2-electroreduction