Structure-evolved YbBiO₃ perovskites for highly formate-selective CO₂ electroreduction

The electrochemical reduction of CO₂ (ERCO₂) into economically valuable chemicals is one of the most promising ways to achieve carbon neutrality. Perovskite materials have shown potential applications in high-temperature catalysis and photocatalysis due to their unique structure, but their catalytic performance during the aqueous ERCO₂ has rarely been investigated. In this study, we developed an efficient YbBiO₃ perovskite catalyst (YBO@800) for CO₂ conversion to formate, with a maximum faradaic efficiency of 98.3% at -0.9 V_RHE, as well as a considerable faradaic efficiency (>90%) over a wide potential range (from -0.8 to -1.2 V_RHE). Further analyses demonstrated that the structural evolution of YBO@800 occurred during the ERCO₂ process, and the subsequent construction of the Bi/YbBiO₃ heterostructure played a significant role in optimizing the rate-determining step of the ERCO₂. This work inspires the development of perovskite catalysts for the ERCO₂ and provides insight into the influence of the surface reconstruction of catalysts on their electrochemical performance.