Themed collection FOCUS: Recent progress on electrocatalytic CO2 reduction
Electronic and geometric modulations of catalysts for electrochemical CO2 reduction reaction
Modulations of electronic structures of active sites and geometric structures of catalyst supports play important roles in electrocatalytic activity and selectivity for the carbon dioxide reduction reaction.
Mater. Chem. Front., 2023,7, 4723-4743
https://doi.org/10.1039/D3QM00364G
Unveiling the effects of ions in the electric double layer on the carbon dioxide reduction reaction
This paper reviews the recent advances in understanding the effects of cations and anions on determining the electrocatalytic mechanisms and performance of the electrochemical carbon dioxide reduction reaction.
Mater. Chem. Front., 2023,7, 2750-2763
https://doi.org/10.1039/D3QM00277B
All-alkynyl-protected coinage metal nanoclusters: from synthesis to electrocatalytic CO2 reduction applications
Alkynyl-protected metal nanoclusters possess unique advantages, and the recent progress on the controllable synthesis and CO2 electroreduction application is discussed, with some explicit examples to elaborate the structure-performance relationship.
Mater. Chem. Front., 2023,7, 1482-1495
https://doi.org/10.1039/D2QM01282K
Structural reconstruction of BiPbO2Br nanosheets for electrochemical CO2 reduction to formate
A Bi–Pb composite catalyst with heterogeneous interfaces obtained by electroreduction of BiPbO2Br nanosheets exhibits impressive performance for CO2 reduction to formate.
Mater. Chem. Front., 2023,7, 3382-3389
https://doi.org/10.1039/D3QM00262D
Bifunctional electroreduction catalysts of NiFe alloy on N-doped carbon toward industrial-level CO2 conversion powered by Zn–air batteries
A bifunctional electrocatalyst, comprising NiFe alloy on N-doped carbon, was prepared for an integrated electrochemical device capable of implementing CO2 conversion. This device is powered by a homemade Zn–air battery.
Inorg. Chem. Front., 2023,10, 4484-4495
https://doi.org/10.1039/D3QI00966A
Distance produces beauty? regulating the distance of Fe atomic pairs to enhance electrocatalytic CO2 reduction
Accurately controlling the distance between Fe atoms can enhance the electrocatalytic activity for carbon dioxide reduction and promote the C–C coupling process, thus promoting the production of ethanol.
Mater. Chem. Front., 2023,7, 3146-3155
https://doi.org/10.1039/D3QM00261F
Mechanistic insights into the electrochemical reduction of CO2 to CO on Ni(salphen) complexes
Ni(salphen) reduces CO2 to CO via a double reduction/protonation mechanism, and the active species binds to CO, only releasing stoichiometric amounts of CO upon exposure to air. This has been confirmed in both experimental and computational studies.
Inorg. Chem. Front., 2023,10, 4175-4189
https://doi.org/10.1039/D3QI00424D
A supported polymeric organic framework composed of dual electrocatalytically active sites for high-performance carbon dioxide electroreduction
We construct an organic–inorganic hybrid electrocatalyst by the template-directed in situ polymerization of porphyrin-based organic framework with dual catalytic sites on the CNT scaffold for high-performance CO2 electroreduction.
Inorg. Chem. Front., 2023,10, 3963-3973
https://doi.org/10.1039/D3QI00589E
Viologen linker as a strong electron-transfer mediator in the covalent organic framework to enhance electrocatalytic CO2 reduction
Viologen groups as a strong electron transfer mediator are inserted in Por(Co)-Vg-COF to improve the electronic conductivity and thus showed highly efficient electroreduction of CO2 in neutral/acidic/alkaline electrolytes.
Mater. Chem. Front., 2023,7, 2661-2670
https://doi.org/10.1039/D3QM00218G
Graphdiyne/copper sulfide heterostructure for active conversion of CO2 to formic acid
The synthesis of electrocatalysts with high selectivity, activity, and stability for the CO2 reduction reaction (CO2RR) is a promising and sustainable route to convert CO2 into value-added chemicals at room temperatures and pressures.
Mater. Chem. Front., 2023,7, 2620-2627
https://doi.org/10.1039/D3QM00245D
Enhancing CO2 electrolysis performance with various metal additives (Co, Fe, Ni, and Ru) – decorating the La(Sr)Fe(Mn)O3 cathode in solid oxide electrolysis cells
An enhanced CO2 electrolysis current density of 2.20 A cm−2 @ 1.5 V at 1123 K is achieved for LSFM electrodes using Fe catalyst rather than Ru, Ni, and Co catalysts.
Inorg. Chem. Front., 2023,10, 3536-3543
https://doi.org/10.1039/D3QI00379E
Electroreduction of CO2 to syngas with controllable H2/CO ratios in a wide potential range over Ni–N co-doped ultrathin carbon nanosheets
Electrocatalytic reduction of CO2 to syngas with tunable proportions in a wide potential range over Ni–N co-doped ultrathin carbon nanosheets.
Inorg. Chem. Front., 2023,10, 2414-2422
https://doi.org/10.1039/D3QI00108C
Cu–Ni alloy decorating N-doped carbon nanosheets toward high-performance electrocatalysis of mildly acidic CO2 reduction
The nitrogen-doped “willow leaf” shaped carbon nanosheets modified with Cu-Ni alloy shows excellent electrocatalytic activity for reducing CO2 to CO under mildly acidic media.
Inorg. Chem. Front., 2023,10, 2276-2284
https://doi.org/10.1039/D3QI00207A
Pyridyl-containing graphdiyne stabilizes sub-2 nm ultrasmall copper nanoclusters for the electrochemical reduction of CO2
Pyridyl-containing graphdiyne provides well-defined sites for stabilizing sub-2 nm copper nanoclusters, which show an optimum CH4 faradaic efficiency of 58% in the electrochemical CO2 reduction reaction.
Inorg. Chem. Front., 2023,10, 2189-2196
https://doi.org/10.1039/D2QI02671F
Nano-polyaniline enables highly efficient electrocatalytic reduction of CO2 to methanol in supporting electrolyte-free media and the detection of free-radical signals
Metals and metal oxides are widely used as catalysts for the electrochemical reduction of CO2.
Mater. Chem. Front., 2023,7, 1385-1394
https://doi.org/10.1039/D2QM01119K
Steering CO2 electroreduction selectivity towards CH4 and C2H4 on a tannic acid-modified Cu electrode
The selectivity of C2H4 and CH4 in CO2 electroreduction can be modulated on a Cu electrode by tannic acid modification, which jointly promotes H2O dissociation and stabilizes the intermediate.
Mater. Chem. Front., 2023,7, 1395-1402
https://doi.org/10.1039/D2QM01259F
Electrochemical conversion of CO2 into HCOO− in a synergistic manner by a nanocomposite of Zn2SnO4/ZnO
A Zn2SnO4/ZnO nanocomposite is developed for effectively catalyzing the reduction of CO2 to formic acid, owning to the potential capacity to regulate electronic structure by interfacial interaction.
Inorg. Chem. Front., 2023,10, 1818-1825
https://doi.org/10.1039/D2QI02762C
Atomically dispersed copper catalysts for highly selective CO2 reduction
Support substrates play important roles in the catalysis process.
Inorg. Chem. Front., 2023,10, 675-681
https://doi.org/10.1039/D2QI02288E
In situ surface/interface generation on Cu2O nanostructures toward enhanced electrocatalytic CO2 reduction to ethylene using operando spectroscopy
Electrocatalytic CO2 reduction reactions (CO2RRs), an efficient method of converting carbon dioxide into valuable fuels and chemicals, are attractive as well as challenging.
Inorg. Chem. Front., 2023,10, 240-249
https://doi.org/10.1039/D2QI01977A
Metal–oxide heterointerface synergistic effects of copper–zinc systems for highly selective CO2-to-CH4 electrochemical conversion
Highly efficient CO2 electroreduction to methane (CH4) is achieved over a precisely controlled Cu–ZnO heterointerface system, delivering a superior activity with a faradaic efficiency of up to 72.4% at −0.7 V vs. RHE.
Inorg. Chem. Front., 2023,10, 168-173
https://doi.org/10.1039/D2QI02051C
Multivariate indium–organic frameworks for highly efficient carbon dioxide capture and electrocatalytic conversion
A series of trinuclear indium–organic frameworks was synthesized and this work demonstrates that bimetallic engineering is a promising strategy for efficient CO2 capture and electrocatalytic CO2 conversion.
Inorg. Chem. Front., 2023,10, 158-167
https://doi.org/10.1039/D2QI02020C
Highly efficient electrochemical CO2 reduction over crystalline–amorphous In2O3–CeOx heterostructures
The crystalline–amorphous In2O3–CeOx heterostructure was fabricated for highly efficient electroreduction of CO2 to formate at a large potential window and the maximum faradaic efficiency reached 94.8%.
Inorg. Chem. Front., 2022,9, 5926-5931
https://doi.org/10.1039/D2QI01646J
Covalent organic frameworks based on tetraphenyl-p-phenylenediamine and metalloporphyrin for electrochemical conversion of CO2 to CO
The as-prepared TPPDA-CoPor-COF shows high CO faradic efficiencies of 87–90% from −0.6 to −0.9 V vs. RHE, and the largest CO partial current density of TPPDA-CoPor-COF exceeds most of reported COF-based electrocatalysts.
Inorg. Chem. Front., 2022,9, 3217-3223
https://doi.org/10.1039/D2QI00336H
In situ reconstruction of vegetable sponge-like Bi2O3 for efficient CO2 electroreduction to formate
The vegetable sponge-like Bi2O3 was prepared using a microwave-ultrasonic strategy, with in situ reconstruction boosting the CO2RR performance.
Mater. Chem. Front., 2022,6, 1091-1097
https://doi.org/10.1039/D1QM01557E
In/ZnO@C hollow nanocubes for efficient electrochemical reduction of CO2 to formate and rechargeable Zn–CO2 batteries
In/ZnO@C hollow nanocubes derived from In(OH)3-doped Zn-MOFs were developed for the electrochemical reduction of CO2 to formate and rechargeable aqueous Zn–CO2 batteries.
Mater. Chem. Front., 2021,5, 6618-6627
https://doi.org/10.1039/D1QM00825K
Electrochemical fixation of CO2 over a Mo plate to prepare a Mo2C film for electrocatalytic hydrogen evolution
Electrochemical reduction of CO2 over a metal substrate integrates fixation of CO2 and surface carbonization of the metal to functional films.
Mater. Chem. Front., 2021,5, 4963-4969
https://doi.org/10.1039/D1QM00443C
Bromine anion mediated epitaxial growth of core–shell Pd@Ag towards efficient electrochemical CO2 reduction
A Br− mediated epitaxy growth is proposed to fabricate core–shelled Pd@Ag electrocatalysts highly active for CO2 reduction.
Mater. Chem. Front., 2021,5, 4327-4333
https://doi.org/10.1039/D1QM00169H
Nitrogen dopant induced highly selective CO2 reduction over lotus-leaf shaped ZnO nanorods
In this work, N-doped ZnO nanorods were prepared via a simple plasma treatment. The resulting catalyst showed high electroreduction activity of CO2 at a low applied potential, achieving a maximum faradaic efficiency of 76 ± 4% and 30 h stability.
Mater. Chem. Front., 2021,5, 4225-4230
https://doi.org/10.1039/D1QM00344E
Boosting CO2 electroreduction to CO with abundant nickel single atom active sites
A facile route for a single-atom Ni catalyst (Ni–SAs–NC) with dense Ni–N4 active sites is reported; the as-prepared Ni–SAs–N4C shows a 98% faradaic efficiency (FE) at −0.65 V for CO generation.
Inorg. Chem. Front., 2021,8, 2542-2548
https://doi.org/10.1039/D1QI00126D
Three-dimensional porous copper-decorated bismuth-based nanofoam for boosting the electrochemical reduction of CO2 to formate
A Cu-decorated Bi/Bi2O3 nanofoam with a 3D porous network structure was assembled, which exhibits excellent electrocatalytic performance toward electrocatalytic CO2 reduction owing to the optimized morphology and electronic structure.
Inorg. Chem. Front., 2021,8, 2461-2467
https://doi.org/10.1039/D1QI00065A
Efficient and steady production of 1 : 2 syngas (CO/H2) by simultaneous electrochemical reduction of CO2 and H2O
A guest–host pyrolysis strategy is used to synthesize a Co–C/Nx-based single-site catalyst, featuring excellent electrocatalytic performance for syngas production by electrochemical reduction of CO2 and H2O (FE nearly 100%, formation rate 1.08 mol g−1 h−1 at 1.0 V vs. RHE).
Inorg. Chem. Front., 2021,8, 1695-1701
https://doi.org/10.1039/D0QI01351J
About this collection
Materials Chemistry Frontiers and Inorganic Chemistry Frontiers are delighted to introduce you the following collection of articles on “electrocatalytic CO2 reduction”. Articles featured in our focus collections are handpicked by Editors. We hope you find them enjoyable to read. Access is free till 23 October.