Modulating the electrocatalytic CO2 reduction performances of bismuth nanoparticles with carbon substrates with controlled degrees of oxidation

Si-Qian Wu; Yu-Chen Hao; Li-Wei Chen; Jiani Li; Zi-Long Yu; Zhejiaji Zhu; Di Liu; Xin Su; Linyu Hu; Hui-Zi Huang; An-Xiang Yin

doi:10.1039/d1nr05793f

Modulating the electrocatalytic CO₂ reduction performances of bismuth nanoparticles with carbon substrates with controlled degrees of oxidation

Nanoscale. 2021 Dec 13;13(47):20091-20097. doi: 10.1039/d1nr05793f.

Authors

Si-Qian Wu¹, Yu-Chen Hao¹, Li-Wei Chen¹, Jiani Li¹, Zi-Long Yu¹, Zhejiaji Zhu¹, Di Liu¹, Xin Su¹, Linyu Hu¹, Hui-Zi Huang¹, An-Xiang Yin¹

Affiliation

¹ Ministry of Education Key Laboratory of Cluster Science, Beijing Key Laboratory of Photoelectronic/Electrophotonic Conversion Materials, Advanced Technology Research Institute (Jinan), School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Beijing Institute of Technology, Beijing 100081, P. R. China. yin@bit.edu.cn.

PMID: 34846444
DOI: 10.1039/d1nr05793f

Abstract

The catalytic performances of metal nanoparticles can be widely tuned and promoted by the metal-support interactions. Here, we report that the morphologies and electrocatalytic CO₂ reduction reaction (CO₂RR) properties of bismuth nanoparticles (BiNPs) can be rationally modulated by their interactions with carbon black (CB) supports by controlling the degree of surface oxidation. Appropriately oxidized CB supports can provide sufficient oxygen-containing groups for anchoring BiNPs with tunable sizes and surface areas, desirable key intermediate adsorption abilities, appropriate surface wettability, and adequate electron transfer abilities. As a result, the optimized Bi/CB catalysts exhibited a promoted CO₂RR performance with a Faradaic efficiency of 94% and a current density of 16.7 mA cm^-2 for HCOO^- at -0.9 V versus a reversible hydrogen electrode. Our results demonstrate the significance of regulating the interactions between supports and metal nanoparticles for both synthesis of the catalyst and electrolysis applications, which may find broader applicability in more electrocatalyst designs.