Figure 2.3 (a) illustrates the linear sweep voltammetry (LSV) results for CO2 reduction at a Pt electrode using the three-electrode configuration described earlier. The electrolyte and cocatalyst utilized were 0.5 mol% of 1,3-dimethyl imidazolium bis(trifluoromethylsulfonyl)imide (MM NTf2). The detailed discussion on the role of MM cation and other imidazolium cations in CO2 reduction will be presented in future chapters. In this context, the system serves to demonstrate the establishment of the experimental protocol. Form Figure 2.3 (a) we observed a slight increase in the reductive current for the Pt electrode with subsequent cycles. While these incremental changes may not be readily apparent in just two consecutive cycles (as shown in Figure 2.4), they become more noticeable when multiple cycles are overlapped, revealing an overall increase in the current. Figure 2.5 presents the EDX-SEM results obtained from the Pt electrode after electrolysis, as detailed in Figure 2.3. The SEM image highlights two distinct regions. In one of these regions, marked by spectrum 30, a dendritic structure is clearly observed. The corresponding EDX analysis in the top-right corner confirms the presence of Ag (43%), C (29%), and N (18%) elements in this region. Conversely, in the second region, represented by spectrum 31, no dendritic structure is evident. The EDX analysis from this region further supports the hypothesis Figure 2.4. Overlapping the first two cycles of LSVs from Figure 2.3 for demonstration purposes.
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