Doping of Vanadium into Bismuth Oxide Nanoparticles for Electrocatalytic CO₂ Reduction

Abstract

Electrocatalytic reduction of carbon dioxide (CO2) to formate is an effective solution to address the continuous increase in CO2 in the atmosphere. Here, we report a vanadium-doped (V-doped) bismuth oxide (Bi2O3) electrocatalyst synthesized using a facile one-step hydrothermal method for highly efficient electrochemical reduction of CO2 to formate. The doping of V can tune the intrinsic crystal and electronic structure of Bi2O3, that is, causing partial amorphization in the Bi2O3 nanosheet and decreasing electron density around Bi active sites. The partial amorphous region can provide more reactive sites; meanwhile, the electron-deficient environment around Bi enhances the adsorption of CO2. The synergistic crystal and electronic structure modulation in the V-doped Bi2O3 provides excellent electrocatalytic CO2RR performance with a high formate selectivity of 94.2% and a high partial current density of 45.03 mA cm–2 at −1.1 V (vs RHE).

Recent advances in the theoretical studies on the electrocatalytic CO2 reduction based on single and double atoms

“…Moreover, the positive limiting potential differences between CO 2 RR and HER indicated the highest selectivity of Fe-N 5 /DPCF. (Zhang et al, 2022c). The redistribution of electrons on the Bi 2 O 3 surface promoted CO 2 adsorption and activity due to the introduction of the V atom, improving the selectivity of formic acid.…”

“…Therefore, the generation of methanol products was significantly easier on the W-In 2 O 3 _D catalyst. Xu et al introduced single vanadium (V) atom into bismuth oxide (Bi 2 O 3 ) to enhance CO 2 conversion to formic acid ( Zhang et al, 2022c ). The redistribution of electrons on the Bi 2 O 3 surface promoted CO 2 adsorption and activity due to the introduction of the V atom, improving the selectivity of formic acid.…”

“…Gray, C; red, O; blue, N; while, H; green, Ni. (F) Free-energy diagram of CO 2 RR to CO (figure used with permission from Zhang et al, 2022c ). (G) Scheme diagram of CO 2 electroreduction to CO on Ni 2 –N 3 (Ni 2 -NCNT) (figure used with permission from Lu et al, 2023).…”

Determining the Effect of Cation (Ti/Zr) Doping in Bismuth Oxide for Electrochemical CO2 Reduction to Formic Acid: A DFT Study

“…The V-doped Bi 2 O 3 electrocatalyst displayed improved activity for electrochemical CO 2 reduction with enhanced catalytic activity and selectivity for formate due to stronger CO 2 adsorption. The V-doped Bi 2 O 3 electrocatalyst exhibited a formate faradaic efficiency of 94.2% at a current density of 45.03 mA cm –2 at −1.1 V . Hsieh et al synthesized Pd-doped BiOCl 2D nanosheets and utilized them as catalysts for CO 2 reduction.…”

Synthesis of Few-Layer Bismuthene for Efficient Electroreduction of CO2 to Formate

“…To mitigate the surge of CO 2 concentration in the atmosphere, electrochemical CO 2 reduction reaction (CO 2 RR) to formate is an auspicious strategy to neutralize carbon emissions 1 and has attracted enormous attention in the field. 2 In pursuit of this challenging goal, developing efficient electrocatalysts with considerable activity and stability is a prerequisite. 3 Recently, Bi-based materials have been widely explored for the selective formation of formate during electrochemical CO 2 RR.…”