Highly Efficient CO₂ Electroreduction to Methanol through Atomically Dispersed Sn Coupled with Defective CuO...

Area of Science:

• Electrochemistry
• Catalysis
• Materials Science

Background:

• Renewable electricity drives CO2 electroreduction for a carbon-neutral energy cycle.
• Methanol production via CO2 reduction is crucial but faces efficiency and selectivity challenges.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop a novel catalyst for efficient CO2 electroreduction to methanol.
• To investigate the catalytic mechanism and performance of atomically dispersed Sn on defective CuO.

Main Methods:

• Design and synthesis of atomically dispersed Sn sites anchored on defective CuO catalysts.
• Electrochemical performance testing in a H-cell, including Faradaic efficiency and current density measurements.
• Operando experiments and density functional theory (DFT) calculations to elucidate the reaction mechanism.

Main Results:

• Achieved a high methanol Faradaic efficiency of 88.6% at a current density of 67.0 mA cm-2.
• Demonstrated remarkable stability for CO2 electroreduction to methanol.
• Identified synergistic effects between atomic Sn, oxygen vacancies, and CuO support enhancing CO2 activation and *CO intermediate formation.

Conclusions:

• Atomically dispersed Sn on defective CuO is a highly effective catalyst for CO2 electroreduction to methanol.
• The catalyst design promotes CO2 activation and selective *CO formation, leading to superior methanol production.
• This work sets a new benchmark for methanol production via CO2 electroreduction at high current densities.