Electrochemical reduction of CO2 using Germanium-Sulfide-Indium amorphous glass structures

Abstract

The research in electrochemical reduction of CO 2 is shifting towards the discovery of new and novel materials. This study shows a new class of material, that of Ge-SIn chalcogenide glass, to be active for reduction of CO 2 in aqueous solutions. Experiments were conducted with bulk and particle form of the material, yielding different product for each structural form. Faradaic efficiency of upto 15% was observed in bulk form for CO production while formic acid with up to 26.1 % faradaic efficiency was measured in powder form. Chalcogenide studies have focused primarily on the photoelectrochemical reduction however these results provide a strong merit for introducing metal in chalcogenide glass structures for electrochemical reduction of CO 2. The activity for CO 2 reduction and the change in product selectivity reflects that further efforts to improve the glass structures can be undertaken in order to increase the faradaic efficiency and selectivity of the products.

Carbon dioxide photoreduction in prebiotic environments

“…More exotic devices, such as sulfur-doped indium surfaces are able to convert CO 2 in formate [60] and a new class of material, that of Ge-S-In chalcogenide glass, can produce formate starting from CO 2 [73].…”

Main group elements in electrochemical hydrogen evolution and carbon dioxide reduction

“…Group 14 elements rarely serve as catalytic centers for multi-H + /multi-e − transfer reactions, except for a few examples of Ge- or Sn-based solid materials. For example, Ge–S–In amorphous glass materials 52 and Sn-containing electrocatalysts 53 have been reported for the CO 2 RR owing to their high selectivity, low overpotential, and steady catalytic stability.…”

“…Ge–S–In chalcogenide glass materials were prepared to perform CO 2 RR in an aqueous electrolyte. 52 Using these Ge–S–In glass electrodes, ∼15% FE for CO formation at an applied potential of −1.3 V vs. normal hydrogen electrode (NHE) was determined after performing bulk electrolysis for over 5 h. Notably, when the micron-sized particles of Ge–S–In were deposited onto the C-paper electrode, a comparatively higher catalytic current was observed in the CO 2 -saturated aqueous electrolyte. Upon performing preparative-scale electrolysis using micron-sized Ge–S–In particles adsorbed onto the C-paper, the product in the CO 2 RR changed to HCOOH with an FE of 26.1%.…”

Multifunctional Photoelectroactive Platform for CO2 Reduction toward C2+ Products─Programmable Selectivity with a Bioinspired Polymer Coating

“…During the past decades, researchers have explored different types of photo/electrocatalysts for P/EC-R including (i) homogeneous and (ii) heterogeneous. Heterogeneous photo/electrocatalysts have potentially been mapped and studied to a much greater extent, as they do not suffer from the drawbacks of homogenous catalysts such as high cost, toxicity, and low stability. − A variety of semiconductors, metal oxides, and metal chalcogenides such as p-Si, SiC, GaP, CdS, − TiO 2 , ZnO, ,, WO 3 , NiO, Ga 2 O 3 , BiVO 4 , Cu 2 O, GeSIn, (Mo–Bi)­S x /CdS, MoS 2 /Si, and MoSe 2 /Si have been reported. Expert researchers in this field have put considerable effort into the engineering of photo/electrocatalyst materials toward increasing light absorption and charge separation to achieve an efficient reductive process.…”