Issue 21, 2023

Confinement of an alkaline environment for electrocatalytic CO2 reduction in acidic electrolytes

Abstract

Acidic electrochemical CO2 reduction reaction (CO2RR) can minimize carbonate formation and eliminate CO2 crossover, thereby improving long-term stability and enhancing single-pass carbon efficiency (SPCE). However, the kinetically favored hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) is generally predominant under acidic conditions. This paper describes the confinement of a local alkaline environment for efficient CO2RR in a strongly acidic electrolyte through the manipulation of mass transfer processes in well-designed hollow-structured Ag@C electrocatalysts. A high faradaic efficiency of over 95% at a current density of 300 mA cm−2 and an SPCE of 46.2% at a CO2 flow rate of 2 standard cubic centimeters per minute are achieved in the acidic electrolyte, with enhanced stability compared to that under alkaline conditions. Computational modeling results reveal that the unique structure of Ag@C could regulate the diffusion process of OH− and H+, confining a high-pH local reaction environment for the promoted activity. This work presents a promising route to engineer the microenvironment through the regulation of mass transport that permits the CO2RR in acidic electrolytes with high performance.

Graphical abstract: Confinement of an alkaline environment for electrocatalytic CO2 reduction in acidic electrolytes

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Edge Article
Submitted
24 2 2023
Accepted
01 5 2023
First published
02 5 2023
This article is Open Access

All publication charges for this article have been paid for by the Royal Society of Chemistry
Creative Commons BY license

Chem. Sci., 2023,14, 5602-5607

Confinement of an alkaline environment for electrocatalytic CO2 reduction in acidic electrolytes

X. Li, P. Zhang, L. Zhang, G. Zhang, H. Gao, Z. Pang, J. Yu, C. Pei, T. Wang and J. Gong, Chem. Sci., 2023, 14, 5602 DOI: 10.1039/D3SC01040F

This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported Licence. You can use material from this article in other publications without requesting further permissions from the RSC, provided that the correct acknowledgement is given.

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