Electrodeposition of Copper-Manganese onto Porous Nanowire Foams

Nanoporous metallic foams constructed from electrodeposited nanowires have recently been shown to be highly efficient in filtering sub-micron particulates while preserving a low weight and high robustness [1]. Such foams are promising filtration media against air pollution as well as the on-going COVID-19 pandemic. An additional functionality of the foams is the potential to efficiently catalyze toxic and greenhouse gases simultaneously with physical filtration. We have successfully coated copper-manganese alloys as catalysts onto copper nanowire foams using electrochemical deposition. Cyclic voltammetry, scanning electron microscopy, and energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy confirm the successful formation of a homogeneous and porous copper-manganese coating onto the metallic foams, with the desirable composition. Such CuMn-coated foams offer potential in improving the catalytic reduction of carbon monoxide.

[1] J. Malloy, A Quintana, C.J. Jensen, and Kai Liu, Nano Lett. 21, 2968 (2021).