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Updated: Aug 18, 2025

Synthesis and Performance Characterizations of Transition Metal Single Atom Catalyst for Electrochemical CO2 Reduction
Published on: April 10, 2018
Overall Carbon-neutral Electrochemical Reduction of CO2 in Molten Salts using a Liquid Metal Sn Cathode
Shuangxi Jing1, Ren Sheng1, Xinxin Liang1
1College of Chemistry and Molecular Sciences, Hubei Key Laboratory of Electrochemical Power Sources, Wuhan University, Wuhan, 430072, P. R. China.
Abstract:
An overall carbon-neutral CO2 electroreduction requires enhanced conversion efficiency and intensified functionality of CO2 -derived products to balance the carbon footprint from CO2 electroreduction against fixed CO2 . A liquid Sn cathode is herein introduced into electrochemical reduction of CO2 in molten salts to fabricate core-shell Sn-C spheres (Sn@C). An in situ generated Li2 SnO3 /C directs a self-template formation of Sn@C. Benefitting from the accelerated reaction kinetics from the liquid Sn cathode and the core-shell structure of Sn@C, a CO2 -fixation current efficiency higher than 84 % and a high reversible lithium-storage capacity of Sn@C are achieved. The versatility of this strategy is demonstrated by other low melting point metals, such as Zn and Bi. This process integrates energy-efficient CO2 conversion and template-free fabrication of value-added metal-carbon, achieving an overall carbon-neutral electrochemical reduction of CO2 .
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