Boosting ethylene yield via a synergistic 2D/0D nanostructured VCu layered double hydroxide/TiO 2 catalyst in electrochemical CO 2 reduction

The electrochemical conversion of CO 2 into C 1 and C 2 hydrocarbons, such as methane and ethylene, is a promising pathway toward achieving net zero carbon emissions; however, owing to the high activation barrier of CO 2 , this reaction remains a big challenge. In this work, an effective strategy has been developed through the synthesis of a low-cost vanadium- and copper-based layered double hydroxide (LDH) decorated with TiO 2 nanoparticles (VCu LDH/TiO 2 ) as a highly efficient electrocatalyst for the electrochemical reduction of CO 2 to ethylene. Structural and morphological studies of the developed electrocatalyst were carried out using various analytical techniques such as X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy (FESEM), X-ray photoelectron microscopy (XPS) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM), which confirmed the successful formation of VCu LDH/TiO 2 . The electrochemical CO 2 reduction reaction (CO 2 RR) was performed in 0.1 M KHCO 3 using an H-type cell and afforded CO, H 2 , CH 4 , and C 2 H 4 as value-added end products. The highest faradaic efficiency of 84% was obtained for C 2 H 4 at −0.4 V vs. RHE. The above results suggest that the VCu LDH/TiO 2 NP electrocatalyst may be an excellent candidate for CO 2 reduction and can also be utilized in a wide range of energy conversion and storage applications.