Heterogeneous Structure of Sn/SnO₂ Constructed via Phase Engineering for Efficient and Stable CO₂ Reduction

Abstract

The electrochemical carbon dioxide reduction reaction (CO 2 RR) catalyzed by Sn-based materials shows great potential for CO 2 -to-formate conversion. The presence of tin species with different oxidation states can promote the catalytic performance, most likely due to the interfaces of metallic and oxide phases that induce a synergistic effect. Therefore, it is desirable yet challenging to synthesize a hybrid catalyst with abundant active heterogeneous interfaces. Herein, we synthesize a hybrid catalyst constructed by decorating nanosized SnS 2 in the SnO 2 matrix. The uniformly distributed SnS 2 nanoparticles are first reduced to metallic tin, which assists in the generation of abundant Sn/SnO 2 heterogeneous interfaces under the in situ reduction process. Because of the electronic modulation at the heterogeneous interfaces, the resulting catalyst delivers a high current density of 200 mA• cm −2 at −0.86 V vs RHE, and the performance is stable for over 20 h. This work suggests a potentially powerful interface engineering strategy for the development of high-performance electrocatalysts for the CO 2 RR.

1 nm Tin Oxide Cluster for the Electrochemical Conversion of Carbon Dioxide to Formate at Low Overpotential

“…In other words, the oxidation state of tin oxide is one of the key factors that determine the CO 2 RR activity in SnO 2 /ZC catalysts. This inference is in good agreement with the findings of previous reports [41][42][43][44].…”

Sn/SnO2 Nanocomposite Encapsulated on Nitrogen-Doped Carbon as a Highly Efficient Catalyst for the Electrochemical Reduction of CO2 to Formate

“…There are several reports suggesting the formation of Sn by the reduction of SnO 2 during the electrochemical CO 2 reduction reaction, and the in situ formed Sn/SnO 2 boosts the CO 2 reduction kinetics. 36 For example, Liu et al 70 reported in situ phase engineered Sn/SnO 2 for an efficient and stable CO 2 reduction reaction. Therefore, the increased catalytic activity as well as decrease of the CO 2 reduction potential of (Sn/SnO 2 ) 15 −CN x may be due to the presence of an effective Sn/SnO 2 heterojunction.…”

Recent insights on the use of modified Zn-based catalysts in eCO2RR

“…Meanwhile, the Sn-based materials showed a superior performance for CO 2 conversion to HCOO − , constructing a synergistic effect with ZnO-based materials which enhanced the HCOO − selectivity. [174][175][176] Tan et al 177 presented a SnO 2 /ZnO composite hollow nanofiber (HNF) for eCO 2 RR to HCOOH. By comparing the electrochemical performance and physicalchemical properties of the SnO 2 /ZnO composite HNF with the SnO 2 HNF and SnO 2 NPs, they also found that the SnO 2 /ZnO composite HNF was the most suitable catalyst for the production of HCOOH (Fig.…”