In-situ reconstruction of Bi60In2O93 nanotube for stable electroreduction of CO2 at ampere-current densities

Abstract

We report a unique Bi-In nanotube catalyst (Bi60In2 NT), which was prepared by in-situ reconstruction of a novel precursor of Bi60In2O93. By virtue of the structural characteristics of hollow nanotubes and the modulated electronic structure by indium atom doping, Bi60In2 NT delivers an impressive partial current density of 1.03 A cm−2 with a high Faradaic efficiency (FE) of 95.3% for formate production. Moreover, Bi60In2 NT demonstrates a long-term stability of 48 h at a high current density of 1 A cm−2 in MEA cells. In-situ ATR-SEIRAS spectra confirm that doping of indium atoms enhances the adsorption strength of Bi sites to the *OCHO intermediate. Additionally, DFT calculations reveal that the charge redistribution between bismuth and indium atoms promotes the adsorption of *CO2 intermediates and accelerates the charge transfer kinetics, which undoubtedly contributes to the enhanced activity.