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Nano Research 2024, 17(6): 5031-5039 https://doi.org/10.1007/s12274-024-6517-5
Research Article | Issue | Published: 08 March 2024

Enhanced electrocatalytic CO2 reduction to formic acid using nanocomposites of In2O3@C with graphene

Show Author's Information Wenxiang Li1,  Shuo Gao1,  Chuanruo Yang1,  Juntao Yang1,  Amjad Nisar2,  Guolei Xiang3( ),  Junsu Jin1( )
Beijing Key Laboratory of Membrane Science and Technology, Beijing University of Chemical Technology, Beijing 100029, China
Nanomaterials Research Group, PD, PINSTECH, Islamabad 44000, Pakistan
Institute of Industrial Chemistry, College of Chemistry, Beijing University of Chemical Technology, Beijing 100029, China
Keywords:
oxygen vacancy, reduced graphene oxide, electrochemical CO2 reduction, In2O3@C nanocomposite
Topics:
Electrocatalysis Graphene oxide
Cite this article:
Li W, Gao S, Yang C, et al. Enhanced electrocatalytic CO2 reduction to formic acid using nanocomposites of In2O3@C with graphene. Nano Research, 2024, 17(6): 5031-5039. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12274-024-6517-5
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Abstract Full text Electronic supplementary material About this article

In2O3 is an effective electrocatalyst to convert CO2 to formic acid (HCOOH), but its inherent poor electrical conductivity limits the efficient charge transfer during the reaction. Additionally, the tendency of In2O3 particles to agglomerate during synthesis further limits the exposure of active sites. Here we address these issues by leveraging the template effect of graphene oxide and employing InBDC as a self-sacrificing template for the pyrolysis synthesis of In2O3@C. The resulting In2O3@C/rGO-600 material features In2O3@C nanocubes uniformly anchored on a support of reduced graphene oxide (rGO), significantly enhancing the active sites exposure. The conductive rGO network facilitates charge transfer during electrocatalysis, and the presence of oxygen vacancies generated during pyrolysis, combined with the strong electron-donating ability of rGO, enhances the adsorption and activation of CO2. In performance evaluation, In2O3@C/rGO-600 exhibits a remarkable HCOOH Faradaic efficiency exceeding 94.0% over a broad potential window of −0.7 to −1.0 V (vs. reversible hydrogen electrode (RHE)), with the highest value of 97.9% at −0.9 V (vs. RHE) in a H-cell. Moreover, the material demonstrates an excellent cathodic energy efficiency of 71.6% at −0.7 V (vs. RHE). The study underscores the efficacy of uniformly anchoring metal oxide nanoparticles onto rGO for enhancing the electrocatalytic CO2 reduction performance of materials.


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About this article

Enhanced electrocatalytic CO2 reduction to formic acid using nanocomposites of In2O3@C with graphene

Show Author's information Wenxiang Li1, Shuo Gao1, Chuanruo Yang1, Juntao Yang1, Amjad Nisar2, Guolei Xiang3( ), Junsu Jin1( )
Beijing Key Laboratory of Membrane Science and Technology, Beijing University of Chemical Technology, Beijing 100029, China
Nanomaterials Research Group, PD, PINSTECH, Islamabad 44000, Pakistan
Institute of Industrial Chemistry, College of Chemistry, Beijing University of Chemical Technology, Beijing 100029, China

Abstract

In2O3 is an effective electrocatalyst to convert CO2 to formic acid (HCOOH), but its inherent poor electrical conductivity limits the efficient charge transfer during the reaction. Additionally, the tendency of In2O3 particles to agglomerate during synthesis further limits the exposure of active sites. Here we address these issues by leveraging the template effect of graphene oxide and employing InBDC as a self-sacrificing template for the pyrolysis synthesis of In2O3@C. The resulting In2O3@C/rGO-600 material features In2O3@C nanocubes uniformly anchored on a support of reduced graphene oxide (rGO), significantly enhancing the active sites exposure. The conductive rGO network facilitates charge transfer during electrocatalysis, and the presence of oxygen vacancies generated during pyrolysis, combined with the strong electron-donating ability of rGO, enhances the adsorption and activation of CO2. In performance evaluation, In2O3@C/rGO-600 exhibits a remarkable HCOOH Faradaic efficiency exceeding 94.0% over a broad potential window of −0.7 to −1.0 V (vs. reversible hydrogen electrode (RHE)), with the highest value of 97.9% at −0.9 V (vs. RHE) in a H-cell. Moreover, the material demonstrates an excellent cathodic energy efficiency of 71.6% at −0.7 V (vs. RHE). The study underscores the efficacy of uniformly anchoring metal oxide nanoparticles onto rGO for enhancing the electrocatalytic CO2 reduction performance of materials.

Keywords: oxygen vacancy, reduced graphene oxide, electrochemical CO2 reduction, In2O3@C nanocomposite

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Publication history
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Acknowledgements

Publication history

Received: 26 December 2023
Revised: 23 January 2024
Accepted: 25 January 2024
Published: 08 March 2024
Issue date: June 2024

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© Tsinghua University Press 2024

Acknowledgements

Acknowledgements

This work was supported by Joint Key Program of National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. U22B20147).

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