Electrochemically Enhancing Nanostructured Fe-Oxide/Co3O4 for the Reverse Water Gas Shift Reaction
Authors: Panaritis Christopher , Couillard Martin , Baranova Elena A. 
Published: May 2020

The abundant amount of CO2 in the atmosphere is a valuable resource that when managed correctly can replace energy from the fossil fuel industry and provide a carbon-neutral solution that will reduce the impacts of the climate and ecological crisis[1]. This is achieved by reducing CO2 with hydrogen (H2) through the reverse water gas shift (RWGS) reaction to produced carbon monoxide (CO). CO then acts as a source molecule in the Fischer-Tropsch synthesis to manufacture hydrocarbon fuels. Due to the high stability of the CO2 molecule, significant thermal energy is required to undertake the reaction. Iron-oxide (FeOx) has been shown to be an active and thermally stable catalysts towards the RWGS reaction. FeOx (iron-oxide) nanowires are fabricated through the polyol reduction method and have been characterized through scanning transmission electron microscopy (STEM) analysis[2]. Following the wet deposition method, the Fe nanowires are finely dispersed on cobalt-oxide (Co3O4) to act as a support and semi-conductor. The dispersion of Fe on Co3O4 enhances the electronic properties of the catalyst through the metal-support interaction (MSI) effect[3]. The MSI entails the back spillover of promoting oxygen (Oδ-) ionic species from Co3O4 to FeOx by an increase in temperature, altering the work function of FeOx and allowing to cycle oxygen from the breaking of CO2. Through the Electrochemical Promotion of Catalysis (EPOC) phenomenon the catalytic activity can be enhanced by altering the binding energy of the reactant and intermediate species on the catalytic surface[4]. The MSI and EPOC phenomena have been shown to be functionally equivalent in terms of the change in work function. The difference between them is that in EPOC the movement of ions can be controlled through the application of an electrical current or potential difference, while the MSI effect is controlled by a thermal input. EPOC entails the use of solid electrolytes, for instance yttria-stabilized zirconia (YSZ) and barium zirconate yttrium-doped (BZY) which are oxygen and proton conductors, respectively. The catalyst-working electrodes (i.e. FeOx nanowires) are deposited on one side of the electrolyte and on the opposite side, inert gold counter and reference electrodes. Through the application of a potential difference between the electrodes, promoting species migrate through the three-phase (solid-gas-catalyst) boundary in order to interact with the exposed-catalyst surface. In the case of BZY, when a potential difference is applied between the counter and working electrode, H+ are removed from the surface through the three-phase boundary (tpb) towards BZY, referred to as positive polarization. When the polarization is reversed from the working to counter electrode, H+ migrate from BZY through the tpb towards the catalytic surface. Utilizing YSZ, results in the opposite migration with O2- ions. Regardless of the type of solid electrolyte used the catalyst is oxidized under positive polarization and reduced under negative polarization. The use of the Co3O4 semiconductor allows to combine both the MSI and EPOC effect at 350°C, by finely dispersing the Fe nanowires on Co3O4 to expose active sites and lowering the rate of sintering while being conductive to close the circuit[5]. As opposed to using other supports that do not display fully conductive properties, this approach provides an electronic path for the promoters to follow. Results have shown the working-catalyst FeOx/Co3O4 on YSZ and BZY to be highly selective to CO formation under oxidizing (3CO2:H2) and reducing (CO2:7H2) conditions, with a superior activity experienced under rich reducing conditions. Furthermore, alteration in work function from the EPOC effect, has led to a promotional response for both YSZ and BZY. Combining the MSI and EPOC effect allows for high RWGS activity, establishing a promising solution in utilizing CO2 as a resource while using transition metals. Additionally, the EPOC effect will be elucidated through Fourier-Transform Infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy to provide insight on the promoting mechanism occurring during polarization.
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