Metal-Organic Framework-Derived BiIn Bimetallic Oxide Nanoparticles Embedded in Carbon Networks for Efficient Electrochemical Reduction of CO2 to Formate

Qinru Wang; Xiaofeng Yang; Hu Zang; Feiran Chen; Chao Wang; Nan Yu; Baoyou Geng

doi:10.1021/acs.inorgchem.2c01961

Metal-Organic Framework-Derived BiIn Bimetallic Oxide Nanoparticles Embedded in Carbon Networks for Efficient Electrochemical Reduction of CO₂ to Formate

Inorg Chem. 2022 Aug 1;61(30):12003-12011. doi: 10.1021/acs.inorgchem.2c01961. Epub 2022 Jul 15.

Authors

Qinru Wang¹, Xiaofeng Yang¹, Hu Zang¹, Feiran Chen¹, Chao Wang¹, Nan Yu¹, Baoyou Geng^{1

2}

Affiliations

¹ College of Chemistry and Materials Science, The Key Laboratory of Electrochemical Clean Energy of Anhui Higher Education Institutes, Anhui Provincial Engineering Laboratory for New-Energy Vehicle Battery Energy-Storage Materials, Anhui Normal University, Wuhu 241002, China.
² Institute of Energy, Hefei Comprehensive National Science Center, Hefei, 230031 Anhui, China.

PMID: 35838600
DOI: 10.1021/acs.inorgchem.2c01961

Abstract

Bismuth-based catalysts exhibit excellent activity and selectivity for the electroreduction of carbon dioxide (CO₂). However, single-component bismuth-based catalysts are not satisfactory for the electrochemical reduction of CO₂ to formic acid, mainly due to their high hydrogen production, low electrical conductivity, and small catalytic current density. Herein, we used a coordination strategy to recombine Bi and In at the molecular level to form Bi/In bimetallic metal-organic frameworks (MOFs), which were then calcined to obtain MOF-derived Bi/In bimetallic oxide nanoparticles embedded in carbon networks. Thanks to the synergistic effect of bimetallic components, high specific surface area, suitable pore size distribution, and high electrical conductivity of the carbon network, the material exhibits excellent activity and selectivity for electroreduction of CO₂ to formate. In H-type electrolyzers, the formate Faradaic efficiency reaches 91% at -0.9 V (vs RHE) and does not decrease significantly within 48 h. In situ Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy confirms the reaction intermediates and reveals that CO₂ electroreduction is dominant by the *OCHO pathway.