Corrosion and Enhanced Hydrogen Evolution in Electrochemical Reduction of Ammonium Carbamate on Transition Metal Surfaces

Experiments and theory are combined to search for catalyst activity and stability descriptors for the direct reactive capture and conversion (RCC) of CO₂ in ammonia capture solutions using Cu, Ag, Au, Sn, and Ti electrodes. Two major phenomena emerge in RCC that are not predominant in the electrochemical CO₂ reduction (CO₂R) reaction, namely, the rapid corrosion and restructuring of the catalyst in the presence of the CO₂-ammonia adducts and the promotion of the competing hydrogen evolution reaction (HER). The prevalence of HER in RCC is correlated to the electrostatic attraction of the protonated amine to the electrode and the repulsion of the captured CO₂, using the potential of zero charge (PZC). The stability of catalysts under RCC conditions is a function of the applied potential and cannot be readily predicted using binding energy descriptors commonly used in the prediction of CO₂R activity. A direct correlation between calculated binding energies of CO₂R intermediates, atomic oxygen, hydrogen, and ammonia and the activity and stability of transition metals for RCC cannot be found, highlighting the need for descriptors beyond those known for CO₂R.