Abstract
The deactivation of the electrocatalysts due to aging remains an issue, even though many electrocatalysts with very high faradaic efficiency (FE) have been developed. In the present work, we have put forth a facile approach for the regeneration of aged CuO–Cu2O/In2O3 nanocomposite along with a possible mechanism for the regeneration of activity of aged catalysts towards electrochemical reduction by regaining their oxygen vacancies (Vo) defects concentration by ultra-violet (UV) light treatment. The photoluminescence (PL), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), and electrochemical reduction of CO2 (ERC) measurements suggest that the decline in CO faradaic efficiency (FECO) can be attributed to the increase in Vo concentration beyond an optimum level upon aging. From the state-of-the-art combined experimental and theoretical investigation, we conclude that the regeneration of the active sites in the aged electrocatalysts by UV light treatment helps in regaining the electrocatalytic activity towards ERC.
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