Facet-Mediated Interfacial Zn-Ov-Ce Sites for Enhanced CO2 Electroreduction
Yuxin Bao1, Yang Chen1,2, Fei Zhao1
1Institute of Clean Energy Chemistry, College of Chemistry, Liaoning University, Shenyang 110036, China.
ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces
|December 4, 2025
Summary
This study demonstrates that anchoring zinc species on the CeO2(110) facet significantly enhances electrochemical CO2 reduction, producing more CO with high efficiency. This highlights facet engineering for advanced catalyst design.
Area of Science:
- Materials Science
- Electrochemistry
- Catalysis
Background:
- High-dispersion zinc-based catalysts show promise for electrochemical CO2 reduction reaction (CO2RR), potentially replacing noble metals.
- Stabilizing active zinc species for high CO2RR activity and selectivity remains a significant challenge.
Purpose of the Study:
- Investigate the interaction between zinc species and specific crystal facets of ceria (CeO2) for CO2RR.
- Design and evaluate Zn/CeO2 catalysts engineered with different CeO2 facets to optimize CO2RR performance.
Main Methods:
- Synthesized CeO2 nanorods exposing specific crystal facets (110, 100, 111).
- Anchored zinc species onto these CeO2 facets to create Zn/CeO2 catalysts.
- Performed electrochemical CO2RR testing and detailed characterizations (e.g., spectroscopy, microscopy) to analyze catalyst performance and structure-activity relationships.
Main Results:
- The Zn/CeO2(110) catalyst exhibited a high Faradaic efficiency (FE) of 75.6% for CO production at -1.4 V vs RHE.
- Zn/CeO2(110) showed superior CO partial current density (3.89 mA·cm-2 at -1.4 V vs RHE) compared to Zn/CeO2(100) and Zn/CeO2(111).
- Strong interactions between the CeO2(110) facet and Zn atoms generated more oxygen vacancies, facilitating Zn species stabilization and promoting CO2 activation via interfacial Zn-Ov-Ce sites.
Conclusions:
- Engineering specific crystal facets, particularly the (110) facet of CeO2, is crucial for designing efficient Zn-based CO2RR catalysts.
- The generated oxygen vacancies and interfacial Zn-Ov-Ce sites play a key role in stabilizing active Zn species and enhancing CO2 activation and CO production.
- This work provides a new strategy for developing advanced metal oxide catalysts by controlling facet-dependent interfacial active sites.
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