Nano-crumples induced Sn-Bi bimetallic interface pattern with moderate electron bank for highly efficient CO2 electroreduction

Bohua Ren; Guobin Wen; Rui Gao; Dan Luo; Zhen Zhang; Weibin Qiu; Qianyi Ma; Xin Wang; Yi Cui; Luis Ricardez-Sandoval; Aiping Yu; Zhongwei Chen

doi:10.1038/s41467-022-29861-w

Nano-crumples induced Sn-Bi bimetallic interface pattern with moderate electron bank for highly efficient CO₂ electroreduction

Nat Commun. 2022 May 5;13(1):2486. doi: 10.1038/s41467-022-29861-w.

Authors

Bohua Ren^#^{1

2}, Guobin Wen^#^{1

2}, Rui Gao², Dan Luo^{1

2}, Zhen Zhang², Weibin Qiu^{1

2}, Qianyi Ma², Xin Wang^{3

4}, Yi Cui⁵, Luis Ricardez-Sandoval⁶, Aiping Yu⁷, Zhongwei Chen⁸

Affiliations

¹ Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Nanophotonic Functional Materials and Devices, School of Information and Optoelectronic Science and Engineering & International Academy of Optoelectronics at Zhaoqing, South China Normal University, 510631, Guangdong, China.
² Department of Chemical Engineering, Waterloo Institute for Nanotechnology, Waterloo Institute for Sustainable Energy, University of Waterloo, 200 University Avenue West, Waterloo, ON, N2L 3G1, Canada.
³ Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Nanophotonic Functional Materials and Devices, School of Information and Optoelectronic Science and Engineering & International Academy of Optoelectronics at Zhaoqing, South China Normal University, 510631, Guangdong, China. wangxin@scnu.edu.cn.
⁴ South China Academy of Advanced Optoelectronics, South China Normal University, 510006, Guangdong, China. wangxin@scnu.edu.cn.
⁵ Vacuum Interconnected Nanotech Workstation, Suzhou Institute of Nano-Tech and Nano-Bionics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 215123, Suzhou, China.
⁶ Department of Chemical Engineering, Waterloo Institute for Nanotechnology, Waterloo Institute for Sustainable Energy, University of Waterloo, 200 University Avenue West, Waterloo, ON, N2L 3G1, Canada. laricard@uwaterloo.ca.
⁷ Department of Chemical Engineering, Waterloo Institute for Nanotechnology, Waterloo Institute for Sustainable Energy, University of Waterloo, 200 University Avenue West, Waterloo, ON, N2L 3G1, Canada. aipingyu@uwaterloo.ca.
⁸ Department of Chemical Engineering, Waterloo Institute for Nanotechnology, Waterloo Institute for Sustainable Energy, University of Waterloo, 200 University Avenue West, Waterloo, ON, N2L 3G1, Canada. zhwchen@uwaterloo.ca.

^# Contributed equally.

Abstract

CO₂ electroreduction reaction offers an attractive approach to global carbon neutrality. Industrial CO₂ electrolysis towards formate requires stepped-up current densities, which is limited by the difficulty of precisely reconciling the competing intermediates (COOH* and HCOO*). Herein, nano-crumples induced Sn-Bi bimetallic interface-rich materials are in situ designed by tailored electrodeposition under CO₂ electrolysis conditions, significantly expediting formate production. Compared with Sn-Bi bulk alloy and pure Sn, this Sn-Bi interface pattern delivers optimum upshift of Sn p-band center, accordingly the moderate valence electron depletion, which leads to weakened Sn-C hybridization of competing COOH* and suitable Sn-O hybridization of HCOO*. Superior partial current density up to 140 mA/cm² for formate is achieved. High Faradaic efficiency (>90%) is maintained at a wide potential window with a durability of 160 h. In this work, we elevate the interface design of highly active and stable materials for efficient CO₂ electroreduction.