Elucidation of the Synergistic Effect of Dopants and Vacancies on Promoted Selectivity for CO2 Electroreduction to Formate.

Sn-based materials are identified as promising catalysts for the CO2 electroreduction (CO2RR) to formate (HCOO- ). However, their insufficient selectivity and activity remain grand challenges. A new type of SnO2 nanosheet with simultaneous N dopants and oxygen vacancies (VO -rich N-SnO2 NS) for promoting CO2 conversion to HCOO- is reported. Due to the likely synergistic effect of N dopant and VO , the VO -rich N-SnO2 NS exhibits high catalytic selectivity featured by an HCOO- Faradaic efficiency (FE) of 83% at -0.9 V and an FE of > 90% for all C1 products (HCOO- and CO) at a wide potential range from -0.9 to -1.2 V. Low coordination Sn-N moieties are the active sites with optimal electronic and geometric structures regulated by VO and N dopants. Theoretical calculations elucidate that the reaction free energy of HCOO* protonation is decreased on the VO -rich N-SnO2 NS, thus enhancing HCOO- selectivity. The weakened H* adsorption energy also inhibits the hydrogen evolution reaction, a dominant side reaction during the CO2RR. Furthermore, using the catalyst as the cathode, a spontaneous Galvanic Zn-CO2 cell and a solar-powered electrolysis process successfully demonstrated the efficient HCOO- generation through CO2 conversion and storage.

Dynamic Activation of Adsorbed Intermediates via Axial Traction for the Promoted Electrochemical CO2 Reduction.

Regulating the local environment and structure of metal center coordinated by nitrogen ligands (M-N4 ) to accelerate overall reaction dynamics of the electrochemical CO2 reduction reaction (CO2 RR) has attracted extensive attention. Herein, we develop an axial traction strategy to optimize the electronic structure of the M-N4 moiety and construct atomically dispersed nickel sites coordinated with four nitrogen atoms and one axial oxygen atom, which are embedded within the carbon matrix (Ni-N4 -O/C). The Ni-N4 -O/C electrocatalyst exhibited excellent CO2 RR performance with a maximum CO Faradic efficiency (FE) close to 100 % at -0.9 V. The CO FE could be maintained above 90 % in a wide range of potential window from -0.5 to -1.1 V. The superior CO2 RR activity is due to the Ni-N4 -O active moiety composed of a Ni-N4 site with an additional oxygen atom that induces an axial traction effect.