In-situ exsolved Ni nanoparticles for boosting CO2 reduction in solid oxide electrolysis cell

Abstract

Due to their excellent high Faraday efficiency, perovskite solid oxide cells (SOECs) have attracted considerable attention. Nevertheless, they still face significant challenges in terms of stability and electrocatalytic activity during CO₂ electrolysis. In this study, Ni particles in La0.65Ba0.35Mn1-xNixO3-δ are successfully separated by a unique in-situ exsolved method of metal nanoparticles, which are uniformly anchored to the electrode surface as Ni nanometal particles. This effectively suppresses the generation of carbon deposits on the cathode surface. Under test conditions of 850 °C, 1.6 V and 50 sccm flow rate, the CO yield of the modified cathode material reached 5.9 mL min−1 cm−2, which is nearly four times higher than that before doping. The synergistic effect of in-situ exsolution of Ni metal nanoparticles with oxygen defects generated by the perovskite, creating more active locations for CO2 adsorption and electrolysis, is responsible for the significant improvement in electrochemical performance. This work provides new strategies and ideas for the development of efficient and durable SOEC cathode materials.