Electrolyte–Electrocatalyst Interfacial Effects of Polymeric Materials for Tandem CO₂ Capture and Conversion Elucidated Using In Situ Electrochemical AFM

Integrating CO₂ capture and electrochemical conversion has been proposed as a strategy to reduce the net energy required for CO₂ regeneration in traditional CO₂ capture and conversion schemes and can be coupled with carbon-free renewable electricity. Polyethylenimine (PEI)-based materials have been previously studied as CO₂ capture materials and can be integrated in these reactive capture processes. PEI-based electrolytes have been found to significantly increase the CO₂ loading, and impact selectivity and rate of product formation when compared to the conventional aqueous electrolytes. However, the influence of these materials at the catalyst–electrode interface is currently not well understood. In this study, PEI-based electrolytes were prepared and their impact on the morphology of a silver electrode performing electrochemical CO₂ reduction (CO₂R) was studied using in situ electrochemical atomic force microscopy (EC-AFM). The presence of PEI on the electrode surface could be distinguished based on nanomechanical properties (DMT modulus), and changes were observed as negative polarization was applied, revealing a reorganization of the PEI chains due to electrostatic interactions. These changes were impacted by the electrolyte composition, including the addition of supporting electrolyte KHCO₃ salt, as well as CO₂ captured by the PEI-based electrolyte, which minimized the change in surface mechanical properties and degree of PEI alignment on the electrode surface. The changes in surface mechanical properties were also dependent on the PEI polymer length, with higher molecular weight PEI showing different reconfiguration than the shorter polymer brushes. The study highlights that the choice of polymer material, the electrolyte composition, and CO₂ captured impact the near-electrode environment, which has implications for CO₂R, and presents EC-AFM as a new tool that can be used to probe the dynamic behavior of these interfaces during electrocatalysis.