Pd-Decorated 2D MXene (2D Ti<sub>3</sub>C<sub>2</sub>Ti<sub>x</sub>) as a High-Performance Electrocatalyst for Reduction of Carbon Dioxide into Fuels toward Climate Change Mitigation

Palladium nanoparticles (Pd NPs) have attracted considerable attention recently for their excellent catalytic properties in various catalysis reactions. However, Pd NPs have some drawbacks, including their high cost, susceptibility to deactivation, and the possibility of poisoning by intermediate pr...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Bharath Govindan, Rajesh Madhu, Mohammad Abu Haija, Fedor V. Kusmartsev, Fawzi Banat
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2022-10-01
Series:Catalysts
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4344/12/10/1180
Description
Summary:Palladium nanoparticles (Pd NPs) have attracted considerable attention recently for their excellent catalytic properties in various catalysis reactions. However, Pd NPs have some drawbacks, including their high cost, susceptibility to deactivation, and the possibility of poisoning by intermediate products. Herein, Pd nanoparticles with an average diameter of 6.5 nm were successfully incorporated on electronically transparent 2D MXene (Ti<sub>3</sub>C<sub>2</sub>Ti<sub>x</sub>) nanosheets (Pd-MXene) by microwave irradiation. Considering the synergetic effects of ultra-fine Pd NPs, together with the intrinsic properties of 2D MXene, the obtained Pd-MXene showed a specific surface area of 97.5 m<sup>2</sup>g<sup>−1</sup> and multiple pore channels that enabled excellent electrocatalytic activity for the reduction of CO<sub>2</sub>. Further, the 2D Pd-MXene hybrid nanocatalyst enables selective electroreduction of CO<sub>2</sub> into selective production of CH<sub>3</sub>OH in ambient conditions by multiple electron transfer. A detailed explanation of the CO<sub>2</sub>RR mechanism is presented, and the faradic efficiency (FE) of CH<sub>3</sub>OH is tuned by varying the cell potential. Recyclability studies were conducted to demonstrate the practical application of CO<sub>2</sub> reduction into selective production of CH<sub>3</sub>OH. In this study, metal and MXene interfaces were created to achieve a highly selective electroreduction of CO<sub>2</sub> into fuels and other value-added chemical products.
ISSN:2073-4344