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Isolated Cu-Sn diatomic sites for enhanced electroreduction of CO2 to CO

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Abstract

Electrochemical CO2 reduction reaction (CO2RR) to high-value product, CO, not only provides a key feedstock for the well-established Fischer—Tropsch process but also mitigates the greenhouse effect. However, it suffers from sluggish reaction kinetics, competitive hydrogen evolution reaction, and low selectivity. Herein, we report non-precious Cu-Sn diatomic sites anchored on nitrogen-doped porous carbon (CuSn/NPC) as an efficient catalyst for CO2RR to CO. The catalyst exhibits outstanding selectivity with CO Faradaic efficiency (FE) up to 99.1%, much higher than those of individual Cu (66.2%) and Sn (51.3%) single-atom catalysts. Moreover, high stability is confirmed by consecutive 24 h electrolysis with high selectivity from CO2 to CO. Theoretical calculations reveal an obvious activation of CO2 with weakened C—O bonds and distorted CO2 configuration upon chemisorption on the CuSn/NPC catalyst. It is also suggested CuSn/NPC is more selective for the CO2RR with dominant CO production during the electrolysis, rather than the competing hydrogen evolution reaction.

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported by the startup funding of H. L. X. The XAFS/EXAFS spectra obtained from beamline TPS 44A at National Synchrotron Radiation Research Center (NSRRC) are appreciated. The authors thank Hsiao-Tsu Wang, Wei-Xuan Lin, Chih-Wen Pao, and Way-Faung Pong for the acquisition and analysis of the XAFS data.

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  1. Wei Liu, Haoqiang Li, and Pengfei Ou contributed equally to this work.

Authors and Affiliations

  1. State Key Laboratory of Structural Chemistry, Fujian Institute of Research on the Structure of Matter, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Fuzhou, 350002, China

    Wei Liu & Lili Han

  2. Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of California, Irvine, CA, 92697, USA

    Lili Han & Huolin L. **n

  3. Tsinghua Shenzhen International Graduate School, Tsinghua University, Shenzhen, 518055, China

    Wei Liu

  4. School of Materials Science and Engineering, Tian** Key Lab of Photoelectric Materials & Devices, Tian** University of Technology, Tian**, 300384, China

    Haoqiang Li & Jun Luo

  5. Department of Mining and Materials Engineering, McGill University, Montreal, H3A 0C5, Canada

    Pengfei Ou & Jun Song

  6. Teaching and Analytical Instrumentation Center, School of Materials Science and Engineering, Tian** University, Tian**, 300072, China

    **g Mao

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  1. Wei Liu
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Liu, W., Li, H., Ou, P. et al. Isolated Cu-Sn diatomic sites for enhanced electroreduction of CO2 to CO. Nano Res. 16, 8729–8736 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12274-023-5513-5

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