Cu-Sn Aerogels for Electrochemical CO₂ Reduction with High CO Selectivity

This work reports the synthesis of Cu_xSn_y alloy aerogels for electrochemical CO₂ reduction catalysts. An in situ reduction and the subsequent freeze-drying process can successfully give CnxSny aerogels with tuneable Sn contents, and such aerogels are composed of three-dimensional architectures made from inter-connected fine nanoparticles with pores as the channels. Density functional theory (DFT) calculations show that the introduction of Sn in Cu aerogels inhibits H₂ evolution reaction (HER) activity, while the accelerated CO desorption on the catalyst surface is found at the same time. The porous structure of aerogel also favors exposing more active sites. Counting these together, with the optimized composition of Cu₉₅Sn₅ aerogel, the high selectivity of CO can be achieved with a faradaic efficiency of over 90% in a wide potential range (-0.7 V to -1.0 V vs. RHE).