Abstract
This study is aimed to investigate the electro-catalytic activity of Au supported on both CeO2 and activated carbon (AC) to convert CO2 to mixture of C-1-C-4 hydrocarbons in the presence of ionic liquid (IL) 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium methylsulfonate. The studied catalyst samples were prepared by using simultaneous wet impregnation method. The sample containing 0.6 % Au showed higher electro-catalytic activity than the sample contained 0.3 % Au. Both, the average Au particles size and the transformation of layered non-uniformed semi-oval structure to flaked tiny circular like-structure were mainly responsible for the higher catalytic activity of 0.6Au-CeO2-AC sample. In addition, the overall electro-catalytic activity depends upon the applied reaction voltage. Overall, the presence of IL, the surface morphology, and average Au particles size had played a key role in the electro-catalytic conversion of CO2 to hydrocarbons.