Promoting electrocatalytic CO2 reduction to formate via sulfur-boosting water activation on indium surfaces

Wenchao Ma; Shunji Xie; Xia-Guang Zhang; Fanfei Sun; Jincan Kang; Zheng Jiang; Qinghong Zhang; De-Yin Wu; Ye Wang

doi:10.1038/s41467-019-08805-x

Promoting electrocatalytic CO₂ reduction to formate via sulfur-boosting water activation on indium surfaces

Nat Commun. 2019 Feb 21;10(1):892. doi: 10.1038/s41467-019-08805-x.

Authors

Wenchao Ma¹, Shunji Xie¹, Xia-Guang Zhang¹, Fanfei Sun², Jincan Kang¹, Zheng Jiang², Qinghong Zhang³, De-Yin Wu⁴, Ye Wang⁵

Affiliations

¹ State Key Laboratory of Physical Chemistry of Solid Surfaces, Collaborative Innovation Center of Chemistry for Energy Materials, National Engineering Laboratory for Green Chemical Productions of Alcohols, Ethers and Esters, College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Xiamen University, 361005, Xiamen, China.
² Shanghai Synchrotron Radiation Facility, Shanghai Institute of Applied Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 201204, Shanghai, China.
³ State Key Laboratory of Physical Chemistry of Solid Surfaces, Collaborative Innovation Center of Chemistry for Energy Materials, National Engineering Laboratory for Green Chemical Productions of Alcohols, Ethers and Esters, College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Xiamen University, 361005, Xiamen, China. zhangqh@xmu.edu.cn.
⁴ State Key Laboratory of Physical Chemistry of Solid Surfaces, Collaborative Innovation Center of Chemistry for Energy Materials, National Engineering Laboratory for Green Chemical Productions of Alcohols, Ethers and Esters, College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Xiamen University, 361005, Xiamen, China. dywu@xmu.edu.cn.
⁵ State Key Laboratory of Physical Chemistry of Solid Surfaces, Collaborative Innovation Center of Chemistry for Energy Materials, National Engineering Laboratory for Green Chemical Productions of Alcohols, Ethers and Esters, College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Xiamen University, 361005, Xiamen, China. wangye@xmu.edu.cn.

Abstract

Electrocatalytic reduction of CO₂ to fuels and chemicals is one of the most attractive routes for CO₂ utilization. Current catalysts suffer from low faradaic efficiency of a CO₂-reduction product at high current density (or reaction rate). Here, we report that a sulfur-doped indium catalyst exhibits high faradaic efficiency of formate (>85%) in a broad range of current density (25-100 mA cm^-2) for electrocatalytic CO₂ reduction in aqueous media. The formation rate of formate reaches 1449 μmol h^-1 cm^-2 with 93% faradaic efficiency, the highest value reported to date. Our studies suggest that sulfur accelerates CO₂ reduction by a unique mechanism. Sulfur enhances the activation of water, forming hydrogen species that can readily react with CO₂ to produce formate. The promoting effect of chalcogen modifiers can be extended to other metal catalysts. This work offers a simple and useful strategy for designing both active and selective electrocatalysts for CO₂ reduction.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't