UC Berkeley

Illumination of a voltage-biased plasmonic Ag cathode during CO₂ reduction results in a suppression of the H₂ evolution reaction while enhancing CO₂ reduction. This effect has been shown to be photonic rather than thermal, but the exact plasmonic mechanism is unknown. Here, we conduct an in situ ATR-SEIRAS (attenuated total reflectance-surface-enhanced infrared absorption spectroscopy) study of a sputtered thin film Ag cathode on a Ge ATR crystal in CO₂-saturated 0.1 M KHCO₃ over a range of potentials under both dark and illuminated (365 nm, 125 mW cm^-2) conditions to elucidate the nature of this plasmonic enhancement. We find that the onset potential of CO₂ reduction to adsorbed CO on the Ag surface is -0.25 V_RHE and is identical in the light and the dark. As the production of gaseous CO is detected in the light near this onset potential but is not observed in the dark until -0.5 V_RHE, we conclude that the light must be assisting the desorption of CO from the surface. Furthermore, the HCO₃^- wavenumber and peak area increase immediately upon illumination, precluding a thermal effect. We propose that the enhanced local electric field that results from the localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) is strengthening the HCO₃^- bond, further increasing the local pH. This would account for the decrease in H₂ formation and increase the CO₂ reduction products in the light.