AgxCuyNiz Trimetallic Alloy Catalysts for the Electrocatalytic Reduction of Benzyl Bromide in the Presence of Carbon Dioxide

Abstract

Different compositions of trimetallic alloy containing silver, copper, and nickel (AgxCuyNiz) were electrodecorated in a protic ionic liquid medium on glassy carbon electrodes in order to investigate the suitability of the materials as catalysts for electrochemical reduction of carbon dioxide (CO2). Surface characteristic morphology obtained by scanning electron microscopy shows cauliflower crystallites for the deposit of Ag, whereas materials of Cu and Ni exhibit cubic grains and fine particles, respectively. Deposits of trimetallic alloy containing Ag, Cu, and Ni exhibit the mixture of the three characteristic features. Further, trimetallic alloy containing a large amount of Ag provides high crystallinity, whereas predominance of Cu as well as Ni results in porous structures, as revealed by X-ray diffraction analysis. Atomic absorption spectroscopy () was used to determine the compositions of different alloy materials. The suitability of nanomaterials as cathodes for electroreduction of benzyl bromide in CO2 containing 0.1 M tetra-n-butylammonium tetrafluoroborate (DMF/TBABF4)/N,N-dimethylformamide medium was explored. The linear sweep voltammogram reveals that Ag46Cu40Ni14 shows higher cathodic peak current and lower cathodic peak potential than those of other deposited nanomaterials as well as alloys, indicating its higher catalytic activity for such an electroreduction process, whereas potentiostatic electrolysis confirms the abovementioned results.