Copper as an Electron Hunter for Enhancing Bi₂O₂CO₃ Electrocatalytic CO₂ Conversion to Formate

Area of Science:

• Materials Science
• Catalysis
• Electrochemistry

Background:

• Carbon dioxide (CO2) conversion is crucial for sustainable energy.
• Developing efficient catalysts for CO2 reduction is a key challenge.
• Bismuth oxycarbonate (Bi2O2CO3) shows potential for CO2 electroreduction.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop a Cu-doped Bi2O2CO3 catalyst for efficient CO2 to formate conversion.
• To investigate the role of copper (Cu) as an electron hunter.
• To understand the structural and electronic effects of Cu doping on catalytic performance.

Main Methods:

• Synthesis of Cu-doped Bi2O2CO3 with a hollow microsphere structure.
• Electrochemical testing across a wide potential window (-0.8 to -1.3 V vs RHE).
• Density functional theory (DFT) calculations to elucidate reaction mechanisms.

Main Results:

• Achieved 98.5% CO2 conversion efficacy.
• Demonstrated high current density of 800 mA cm-2.
• DFT revealed Cu enhances charge density and lowers the energy barrier for formate production.

Conclusions:

• Cu-doped Bi2O2CO3 is a highly effective catalyst for CO2 electroreduction to formate.
• The hollow microsphere structure optimizes CO2 adsorption and active site availability.
• Copper doping significantly improves catalytic activity by modifying electronic structure and reducing reaction barriers.