Lattice-dislocated Bi nanosheets for electrocatalytic reduction of carbon dioxide to formate over a wide potential window

Yuhong Wang; Hao Gong; Yiyuan Wang; Lizhen Gao

doi:10.1016/j.jcis.2021.12.075

Lattice-dislocated Bi nanosheets for electrocatalytic reduction of carbon dioxide to formate over a wide potential window

J Colloid Interface Sci. 2022 Apr:611:246-254. doi: 10.1016/j.jcis.2021.12.075. Epub 2021 Dec 15.

Authors

Yuhong Wang¹, Hao Gong¹, Yiyuan Wang¹, Lizhen Gao²

Affiliations

¹ College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Taiyuan University of Technology, Taiyuan 030024, PR China.
² College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Taiyuan University of Technology, Taiyuan 030024, PR China; School of Mechanical Engineering, University of Western Australia, 35 Stirling Highway, WA 6009, Australia. Electronic address: lzgao1@yahoo.com.

PMID: 34953457
DOI: 10.1016/j.jcis.2021.12.075

Abstract

Electrochemical reduction of CO₂ to HCOOH (ERC-HCOOH) is one of the most feasible and economically valuable ways to achieve carbon neutrality. Unfortunately, achieving optimal activity and selectivity for ERC-HCOOH remains a challenge. Herein, ultrathin Bi nanosheets (NS) with lattice dislocations (LD-Bi) were prepared by the topological transformation of Bi₂O₂CO₃ NS under high current conditions. LD-Bi exhibited excellent activity and selectivity as well as stability in ERC-HCOOH. Electrochemical tests and DFT calculations revealed that the excellent performance of LD-Bi was attributed to lattice dislocations, which can induce the production of more active sites on the catalyst surface and improve the electronic transfer ability. In addition, LD-Bi was beneficial to enhance the adsorption of CO₂ and key reaction intermediates (OCHO*), thus improving the reaction kinetics. The result provides a unique perspective on the crucial role of lattice dislocations, which may have a significant impact on highly selective electrochemical conversion of CO₂.

Keywords: CO(2) reduction; DFT calculations; Lattice dislocations; Ultrathin Bi nanosheets; Wide potential window.