Chemically coupling SnO₂ quantum dots and MXene for efficient CO₂ electroreduction to formate and Zn-CO₂ battery

Electrochemical conversion of CO₂ into formate is a promising strategy for mitigating the energy and environmental crisis, but simultaneously achieving high selectivity and activity of electrocatalysts remains challenging. Here, we report low-dimensional SnO₂ quantum dots chemically coupled with ultrathin Ti₃C₂T_x MXene nanosheets (SnO₂/MXene) that boost the CO₂ conversion. The coupling structure is well visualized and verified by high-resolution electron tomography together with nanoscale scanning transmission X-ray microscopy and ptychography imaging. The catalyst achieves a large partial current density of -57.8 mA cm^-2 and high Faradaic efficiency of 94% for formate formation. Additionally, the SnO₂/MXene cathode shows excellent Zn-CO₂ battery performance, with a maximum power density of 4.28 mW cm^-2, an open-circuit voltage of 0.83 V, and superior rechargeability of 60 h. In situ X-ray absorption spectroscopy analysis and first-principles calculations reveal that this remarkable performance is attributed to the unique and stable structure of the SnO₂/MXene, which can significantly reduce the reaction energy of CO₂ hydrogenation to formate by increasing the surface coverage of adsorbed hydrogen.