Metal-Support Interaction Boosts Au Catalysts for Hydrogen Evolution-Coupled Ethanol Electro-Oxidation Reaction

Electrochemical hydrogen and acetate cogeneration from ethanol is a promising green hydrogen production technique with low hydrogen production energy consumption and high profitability. However, the poor catalytic stability of the anodic ethanol electro-oxidation reaction (EOR) retards the device application. We adopted a metal support interaction strategy to reinforce small-sized Au active sites using cuprous sulfide supports. The Au-Cu2-xS/C showed a superior activity of 1055 mA mgAu-1 at 1.1 V vs. RHE and retained the high activity in the chronopotentiometric test, surpassing the Au/C catalyst. It was demonstrated that the Cu2-xS support facilitated the formation of Au-OH and prevented the gold sites from aggregation, leading to high activity and stability for EOR. Finally, an electrochemical cogeneration electrolyzer assembled with the Au-Cu2-xS/C anodic catalyst continuously ran for over 100 hours, suggesting the device's applicability. A metal support interaction strategy was adopted to prepare Au-Cu2-xS/C electrocatalysts for ethanol electro-oxidation reaction. The electrocatalytic activity and stability were significantly improved by the strong-bonded Cu2-xS support, and an electrochemical hydrogen and chemical cogeneration electrolyzer equipped with the Au-Cu2-xS/C anodic catalyst continuously ran for over 100 hours. image