Defects and Conductive Nitrogen-Carbon Framework Regulated ZnInOx Nanosheets for Boosting CO2 Electrocatalytic Reduction

• Published in: Applied catalysis. B, Environmental Vol. 279; p. 119383
• Main Authors: Zhang, Xinxin, Chen, Zhipeng, Jiao, Mingyang, Ma, Xin, Mou, Kaiwen, Cheng, Feng, Wang, Zhiheng, Zhang, Xiangping, Liu, Licheng
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Amsterdam Elsevier B.V 15.12.2020; Elsevier BV
• Subjects: Carbon dioxide; Catalysts; Charge transfer; Chemical reduction; CO2 electroreduction; Conductive matrix; Defect; Defects; Electrochemistry; Melamine; Melamine sponge; Nanosheets; Reaction mechanisms; Synergistic effect; ZnInOx nanosheets; ZnInOx nanosheets; CO2 electroreduction; Defect; Melamine sponge; Conductive matrix
• ISSN: 0926-3373; 1873-3883
• DOI: 10.1016/j.apcatb.2020.119383

The synergistic effect of defect and 3D porous NCF conductive matrix promotes the electro-catalytic reduction carbon dioxide performance of ZnInOx/NCF catalyst. [Display omitted] •MS can reconstruct the morphology and electronic structure of nanosheets.•Defects can capture active species and form a new synergetic coordination structure.•Defects and conductive NCF matrix synergistically enhance CO2RR activity. Reducing the dimension and creating defects are effective approaches to increase the active sites of catalysts. Herein, the defective ZnInOx/NCF catalyst was successfully prepared under the inspiration of 3D porous structure of melamine sponge. The functionalized ZnInOx/NCF features larger electrochemical active surface area, higher carbon dioxide adsorption capacity and faster charge transfer rate, which is conducive to electrochemical reduction CO2 to HCOO-. ZnInOx/NCF exhibits the highest Faradaic efficiency (FE) of 90.5% for HCOO- production at a moderate overpotential of 0.9 V with a good stability. The study of catalysts structure and reaction mechanisms demonstrate that the superior activity is attributed to the synergistic effect among the MS-derived NCF conductive matrix and the reduced dimensionality and abundant defects of ZnInOx.