Fast and Facile Microwave Synthesis of Cubic CuFe 2 O 4 Nanoparticles for Electrochemical CO 2 Reduction

Nanoparticles of cubic CuFe 2 O 4 are obtained in a fast microwave‐assisted hydrothermal synthesis. By adjusting the pH value and solvent ratio (ethylene glycol to water), phase purity and high crystallinity is achieved at very short reaction times of 1 min, or low temperatures of 120 °C, without th...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Advanced energy and sustainability research 2023-04, Vol.4 (4)
Main Authors: Zander, Judith, Weiss, Morten, Marschall, Roland
Format: Article
Language:English
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Summary:Nanoparticles of cubic CuFe 2 O 4 are obtained in a fast microwave‐assisted hydrothermal synthesis. By adjusting the pH value and solvent ratio (ethylene glycol to water), phase purity and high crystallinity is achieved at very short reaction times of 1 min, or low temperatures of 120 °C, without the need for subsequent heat treatment steps. The influence of the synthesis time or temperature on material properties and performance in electrochemical CO 2 reduction to CO are investigated. While particle size and crystallinity are not changed significantly with longer synthesis times at 175 °C, prolonged heating results in a decrease of the degree of inversion, which leads to a decrease in the CO 2 reduction ability. The best performance is observed for CuFe 2 O 4 with an intermediate degree of inversion of approx. 0.75, together with the largest crystallite size and micro‐strain, as revealed by Rietveld refinement. For CuFe 2 O 4 synthesized under these conditions, a CO evolution rate of 0.2 μmol h −1  g −1 is obtained at a Faradaic efficiency of 20%. The CO to H 2 ratio is 1:3, which makes it a promising candidate for a sustainable production of syngas.
ISSN:2699-9412
2699-9412
DOI:10.1002/aesr.202200184