Lax-Zn3Al2-x-LDO electrocatalyst for effective tunable CO/H2 synthesis gas generation via CO2 reduction

Abstract

During the electrocatalytic reduction of CO2 (CO2RR), the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) emerges as an inevitable accompanying reaction. By utilizing the HER, regulating the product distribution of CO2RR can produce CO and H2 synthesis gas, which can convert to different value-added chemicals such as methanol and ethanol. So, La doping ZnAl-LDO catalyst (Lax-Zn3Al2-x-LDO, x = 0, 0.2, 0.4) was prepared by the urea method and was synthesized for CO2RR to CO/H2 synthesis gas. The catalysts are systematically characterized and analyzed by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), H2-temperature programmed reduction (H2-TPR), and other multinomial characterization techniques to establish the relationship between different doping amounts and catalytic performance. Adding La can change the chemical environment of Zn2+/Al3+ ions and increase CO/H2 ratio range of synthesis gas, but excessive doping of La may result in a decrease in CO/H2 ratio. By precisely controlling the amount of lanthanum doping, meticulous regulation of the CO/H2 ratio in the synthesis gas can be achieved.