Boosting CO₂ electroreduction on a Zn electrode via concurrent surface reconstruction and interfacial surfactant modification

Abstract

Herein, we report an effective strategy for improving the electrocatalytic CO2 reduction reaction (CO2RR) performance of Zn foil electrode via concurrent surface reconstruction and interfacial surfactant modification. The oxide-derived and...

Recent advances in dynamic reconstruction of electrocatalysts for carbon dioxide reduction

“… 129 Surfactants have also been used as electrolyte additives to regulate the interfacial microenvironment at the electrode-electrolyte interface. 130 For example, adding ethylenediamine tetraacetic acid disodium salt (EDTA) to the sea salt electrolyte resulted in dendritic Cu catalyst formation with a rougher surface and active sites favoring highly selective CO 2 RR toward C 2 H 4 production ( Figure 8 C). 131 Apart from the regulation of the catalyst reconstruction, the surfactant itself can be constructed into a specific structure during the CO 2 RR process.…”

Organic molecule-assisted intermediate adsorption for conversion of CO2 to CO by electrocatalysis

“…In practice, the moderate carbophilicity also makes it difficult for Zn to bind to CO 2 and thus catalyze their reduction, while the stable molecular structure of CO 2 15 further weakens its activity and selectivity. For this reason, strategies like alloying 16,17 are used to provide additional binding sites for the intermediates with the help of a second metal; to prepare single-atom catalysts 18,19 to enhance the catalytic activity with high atomic efficiency; to stabilize carboxylate intermediates by introducing oxygen atoms; 20 or to prepare Zn in unique nanostructures by electrodeposition, 21 anodic oxidation 22 or oxide reduction, 23 utilizing its rich edge and corner active sites to improve the Faraday efficiency and current density. However, the introduction of expensive noble metals for alloying, the complex preparation processes of single-atom catalysts, and the challenges in controlling active sites all contradict the objective of using low-cost catalysts for large-scale applications.…”

Entropy engineering of La-based perovskite for simultaneous photocatalytic CO2 reduction and biomass oxidation

“…The extensive carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) emission through the burning of fossil fuels, solid waste, or wood products has a noticeable impact on global climate change and environmental events; thus, developing techniques for CO 2 conversion has received considerable attention. 1–3 A series of strategies, including pyrolysis, electrochemical 4 and photochemical conversion, have been designed to tackle these environmental problems. 5–7 Understanding the mechanism of CO 2 conversion is critical for the improvement of single product faradaic efficiency 8,9 which is important for further industrial applications.…”