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Communication

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

Wei Liu1,3,§, Haoqiang Li4,§, Pengfei Ou5,§, Jing Mao6, Lili Han1,2( ), Jun Song5, Jun Luo4, Huolin L. Xin2( )
State Key Laboratory of Structural Chemistry, Fujian Institute of Research on the Structure of Matter, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Fuzhou 350002, China
Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of California, Irvine, CA 92697, USA
Tsinghua Shenzhen International Graduate School, Tsinghua University, Shenzhen 518055, China
School of Materials Science and Engineering, Tianjin Key Lab of Photoelectric Materials & Devices, Tianjin University of Technology, Tianjin 300384, China
Department of Mining and Materials Engineering, McGill University, Montreal H3A 0C5, Canada
Teaching and Analytical Instrumentation Center, School of Materials Science and Engineering, Tianjin University, Tianjin 300072, China

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

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Graphical Abstract

Isolated Cu-Sn diatomic sites anchored on N-doped porous carbon were designed and synthesized for the electrocatalytic reduction of CO2 to CO. This catalyst exhibited both high electrocatalytic activity and stability. The good performance can be attributed to the activation of CO2 with weakened C–O bonds and distorted configuration upon chemisorption on Cu-Sn diatomic sites.

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.

Keywords

CO2 reduction reactionCu-Sn active siteCO productdual-atom electrocatalystdensity functional theory (DFT) calculation

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Nano Research
Volume 16 Issue 7,
July 2023
Pages 8729-8736
DOI: 10.1007/s12274-023-5513-5
Cite this article:
Liu W, Li H, Ou P, et al. Isolated Cu-Sn diatomic sites for enhanced electroreduction of CO2 to CO. Nano Research, 2023, 16(7): 8729-8736. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12274-023-5513-5
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Received: 24 October 2022
Revised: 05 January 2023
Accepted: 17 January 2023
Published: 02 April 2023
© Tsinghua University Press 2023
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