Nanoporous Copper from Electrochemical Dealloying of Brass

Abstract

Copper based catalysts have been shown to reduce CO2 electrochemically into hydrocarbons and oxygenates with high Faradaic efficiencies [1]. The selectivity and the efficiency of CO2 electroreduction could benefit from morphological studies on Cu nanocatalysts. Among several methods of fabricating Cu nanocatalysts, dealloying, i.e., the selective electrolytic dissolution of a less-noble element from an alloy [2], is one of the most flexible, controllable, and economical methods available to date. The product of this dissolution is a metallic nanoporous material: an interconnected ligament-pore structure with nearly zero net curvature. Building on the previous investigations on dezincification of brass [3], the evolution of nanoporous Cu from dealloying Muntz metal (Cu60Zn40) will be presented. The effect of various dealloying parameters, such as anodic potential, temperature, pH, and electrolyte will be resolved via various advanced characterization techniques. [1] C. T. Dinh et al., “CO2 electroreduction to ethylene via hydroxide-mediated copper catalysis at an abrupt interface,” Science, vol. 360, no. 6390, pp. 783–787, 2018. [2] R. C. Newman, S. G. Corcoran, J. Erlebacher, M. J. Aziz, and K. Sieradzki, “Alloy corrosion,” MRS Bull., vol. 24, no. 7, pp. 24–28, 1999. [3] R. C. Newman, T. Shahrabi, and K. Sieradzki, “Direct electrochemical measurement of dezincification including the effect of alloyed arsenic,” Corros. Sci., vol. 28, no. 9, pp. 873–886, 1988.