Steering the Selectivity of CuO to Near-Unity of CO with Indium Species for CO2 Electroreduction

Abstract

The increasing consumption of carbon-based fossil fuels has caused excessive CO2 emission and aggravated the greenhouse effect. To reduce increased CO2 emission level, electrochemical reduction of CO2 (CO2RR) holds the great potential to solve the environmental issue and produce valuable chemicals concurrently. Cu has attracted much interest as a promising electrocatalyst for CO2RR due to its earth abundance and low cost. However, the poor selectivity towards the target product and low energy efficiency limit its application for CO2RR. Thus, it is necessary to improve the catalytic activity and selectivity of Cu-based materials for CO2RR. In this work, a composite of In species on CuO (InOx@CuO) was prepared through a facile method. The prepared InOx@CuO exhibits high Faradaic efficiency for CO formation with a maximum value of 97.8 % and energy efficiency of 78.3 %. In addition, the excellent stability and ultralow onset potential demonstrate the excellence of the InOx@CuO for CO2RR. The results suggest that the incorporation of In species on CuO introduces abundant active sites, stabilizes the intermediates and enhances the charge transfer. All the merits jointly contribute to the enhanced electrocatalytic performance for CO2RR to CO.