Issue 34, 2019

Mn-doped atomic SnO2 layers for highly efficient CO2 electrochemical reduction

Abstract

An efficient catalyst is the key to the application of the electrocatalytic CO2 reduction reaction (CO2RR). Herein, we report a facile in situ gas induced growth strategy to synthesize Mn-doped SnO2 (TMO) with a thickness of 3–4 atomic layers for highly efficient CO2 electroreduction. Compared with commercial SnO2, TMO (with 11.86 wt% Mn) exhibits enhanced performance with a higher current density (∼21.2 mA cm−2), higher faradaic efficiency (∼85%) and lower overpotential (240 mV) for formic acid formation. The total faradaic efficiency for CO2 conversion reaches ∼91.6%. X-ray fine structure and density functional theory studies reveal that the ultrathin nanostructure not only features a shrunken energy gap for electron transfer but also exposes more surface active sites. Meanwhile, Mn doping modulates the electronic configuration of SnO2 and generates a large amount of oxygen vacancies. The designed ultrathin structure and Mn doping remarkably decreased the energy barrier of electron transportation on the TMO surface during the CO2RR.

Graphical abstract: Mn-doped atomic SnO2 layers for highly efficient CO2 electrochemical reduction

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Communication
Submitted
25 iyn 2019
Accepted
22 iyl 2019
First published
25 iyl 2019

J. Mater. Chem. A, 2019,7, 19651-19656

Mn-doped atomic SnO2 layers for highly efficient CO2 electrochemical reduction

Y. Wei, J. Liu, F. Cheng and J. Chen, J. Mater. Chem. A, 2019, 7, 19651 DOI: 10.1039/C9TA06817A

To request permission to reproduce material from this article, please go to the Copyright Clearance Center request page.

If you are an author contributing to an RSC publication, you do not need to request permission provided correct acknowledgement is given.

If you are the author of this article, you do not need to request permission to reproduce figures and diagrams provided correct acknowledgement is given. If you want to reproduce the whole article in a third-party publication (excluding your thesis/dissertation for which permission is not required) please go to the Copyright Clearance Center request page.

Read more about how to correctly acknowledge RSC content.

Social activity

Spotlight

Advertisements