May 27, 2020

Probing electrocatalyst surface

In a recent JACS paper, in situ surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) is employed to investigate the speciation of four commonly used Cu surfaces, i.e., Cu foil, Cu micro/nanoparticles, electrochemically deposited Cu film, and oxide-derived Cu, at potentials relevant to the CO reduction reaction in an alkaline electrolyte. This is a collaborative work with Profs. Bingjun Xu and Levi Thompson, which is selected as a journal cover in JACS and highlighted in Nature Catalysis. 

December 9, 2019

Carbon monoxide electroreduction as an emerging platform for carbon utilization

In a perspective paper published in Nature Catalysis, we discussed recent progress towards high-rate CO conversion alongside mechanistic insights and device designs that can improve performance even further. A techno-economic analysis of the two-step conversion process and cradle-to-gate lifecycle assessment shows the economic feasibility and improved environmental impact of a high-volume commercial process generating acetic acid and ethylene compared to the current state of the art.

August 23, 2019

Building nitrogen atoms into carbon species in CO2/CO electrolysis

Expanding the range of chemicals that can be produced electrochemically from carbon dioxide (or derived carbon monoxide) and other abundant sources is much needed. In a collaborative work together with Prof. Bill Goddard at Caltech, we demonstrated the feasibility to form C-N bonds in CO electroreduction reaction. The full report of this study can be found at Nature Chemistry. Two news stories were released regarding this work (UDaily story & Caltech Story).

April 08, 2019

2D Cu nanosheets show superior properties in converting carbon monoxide to acetate!

Two-dimensional Cu nanosheet exhibits a unique property to electrochemically convert carbon monoxide into acetate with a selectivity as high as 48%. This is a collaborative work together with Prof. Yijin Kang and Prof. Yuanyue Liu. The full report of this study can be found at here. We also wrote a blog article regarding this work.