X-ray spectroscopy of copper surface chemistry for catalysis of carbon dioxide conversion to fuels
Abstract/Contents
- Abstract
- The non-renewable nature of fossil fuels and the environmental impact of related CO2 emissions are two challenges facing mankind in the 21st century. Fossil fuels with their high energy density are predicted to make up ~80% of the global energy portfolio even up to 2040 [U.S. Energy Information Administration]. Renewable energy resources such as solar and wind are attractive because they are virtually inexhaustible energy sources and they have no CO2 emissions once the infrastructure is in place. They do however have the problem of intermittency, and therefore require some form of storage if they are to be used on a large scale as the primary source of energy. Batteries are not yet quire up to the task as they have much lower energy densities than fossil fuels. If it were possible to efficiently convert CO2 to high energy density hydrocarbons using solar and wind energy, this would allow for the storage of the renewable energy in the chemical bonds of the fuels and result in a net zero carbon cycle. Two known methods to convert CO2 to fuels are conventional methanol synthesis and the electrochemical reduction of CO2. The best known catalyst for both reactions is copper but even copper is hardly ideal. In order to design more efficient catalysts, it is important to understand the chemistry of the different surface intermediates present on the copper catalyst in the course of the reactions. The first part of the thesis looks at the interaction of formaldehyde, formate, methanol and methoxy on Cu(111) and Cu(110) in ultra-high vacuum (UHV) using temperature programmed desorption (TPD) and x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). The second part of the thesis looks at CO2 and CO on the stepped Cu(211) surface in UHV using TPD, XPS and x-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS). The third part of the thesis looks at the electrochemistry of copper overlayers on a Au(111) surface using XAS.
Description
| Type of resource | text |
|---|---|
| Form | electronic; electronic resource; remote |
| Extent | 1 online resource. |
| Publication date | 2014 |
| Issuance | monographic |
| Language | English |
Creators/Contributors
| Associated with | Mbuga, Felix |
|---|---|
| Associated with | Stanford University, Department of Chemical Engineering. |
| Primary advisor | Jaramillo, Thomas Francisco |
| Primary advisor | Nilsson, Anders |
| Thesis advisor | Jaramillo, Thomas Francisco |
| Thesis advisor | Nilsson, Anders |
| Thesis advisor | Wilcox, Jennifer, 1976- |
| Advisor | Wilcox, Jennifer, 1976- |
Subjects
| Genre | Theses |
|---|
Bibliographic information
| Statement of responsibility | Felix Mbuga. |
|---|---|
| Note | Submitted to the Department of Chemical Engineering. |
| Thesis | Thesis (Ph.D.)--Stanford University, 2014. |
| Location | electronic resource |
Access conditions
- Copyright
- © 2014 by Felix Dominic Mwangi Mbuga
- License
- This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial 3.0 Unported license (CC BY-NC).
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