Highly efficient electrochemical reduction of carbon dioxide to formate on Sn modified Bi2O3 heterostructure

Silver frameworks based on a tetraphenylethylene-imidazole ligand for electrocatalytic reduction of CO2 to CO

Metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) can be used as electrocatalysts for the CO2 reduction reaction (CO2RR) because of their well-dispersed metal centers. Silver is a common electrocatalyst for reduction of CO2 to CO. In this study, two Ag-MOFs with different structures of [Ag8O2(TIPE)6](NO3)4 (Ag-MOF1) and [Ag(TIPE)0.5CF3SO3] (Ag-MOF2) [TIPE = 1,1,2,2-tetrakis(4-(imidazol-1-yl)phenyl)ethene] were synthesized and used for CO2 electroreduction. The results show that Ag-MOF2 is superior to Ag-MOF1 and exhibits high CO faradaic efficiency (FE) of 92.21% with partial current density of 29.51 mA cm-2 at -0.98 V versus reversible hydrogen electrode (RHE). The FECO is higher than 80% in the potential range of -0.78 to -1.18 V. The difference may be caused by different framework structures leading to different electrochemical active surface areas and charge transfer kinetics. This study provides a new strategy for designing and constructing CO2 electroreduction catalysts and provides potential ways for solving environmental and energy problems caused by excessive CO2 emission.

Facile synthesis of lead-tin nanoparticles for electrocatalyzing carbon dioxide reduction to formate

A series of Pb-Sn catalysts were synthesized via facile chemical reduction for electrocatalytic CO₂ reduction (ECR). The optimized sample (Pb₇Sn₁) achieved 90.53% formate faradaic efficiency (FE) at a potential of -1.9 V vs. Ag/AgCl. Electrochemical and material evaluation reveals that its high performance can be attributed to the rich active sites exposed by the high specific surface area of the electrode. In addition, the synergy between Pb and Sn is also a strong contributor to the high selectivity of formate. This work provides some insights into the preparation of simple and efficient ECR catalysts.