Molybdenum-Bismuth Bimetallic Chalcogenide Nanosheets for Highly Efficient Electrocatalytic Reduction of Carbon Dioxide to Methanol

• Published in: Angewandte Chemie (International ed.) Vol. 55; no. 23; pp. 6771 - 6775
• Main Authors: Sun, Xiaofu, Zhu, Qinggong, Kang, Xinchen, Liu, Huizhen, Qian, Qingli, Zhang, Zhaofu, Han, Buxing
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Germany Blackwell Publishing Ltd 01.06.2016; Wiley Subscription Services, Inc
• Edition: International ed. in English
• Subjects: bimetallic chalcogenides; Bimetals; Bismuth; Carbon dioxide; Chemical reduction; Current density; Efficiency; electrocatalysis; Electrochemistry; Fuels; ionic liquids; Methanol; Molybdenum; Nanosheets; Selectivity; Synergistic effect; carbon dioxide; bimetallic chalcogenides; ionic liquids; electrocatalysis; nanosheets
• ISSN: 1433-7851; 1521-3773
• DOI: 10.1002/anie.201603034

Methanol is a very useful platform molecule and liquid fuel. Electrocatalytic reduction of CO2 to methanol is a promising route, which currently suffers from low efficiency and poor selectivity. Herein we report the first work to use a Mo‐Bi bimetallic chalcogenide (BMC) as an electrocatalyst for CO2 reduction. By using the Mo‐Bi BMC on carbon paper as the electrode and 1‐butyl‐3‐methylimidazolium tetrafluoroborate in MeCN as the electrolyte, the Faradaic efficiency of methanol could reach 71.2 % with a current density of 12.1 mA cm−2, which is much higher than the best result reported to date. The superior performance of the electrode resulted from the excellent synergistic effect of Mo and Bi for producing methanol. The reaction mechanism was proposed and the reason for the synergistic effect of Mo and Bi was discussed on the basis of some control experiments. This work opens a way to produce methanol efficiently by electrochemical reduction of CO2. MoBi thin: Mo‐Bi bimetallic chalcogenide nanosheets were utilized as an electrocatalyst for CO2 reduction to produce methanol. The Faradaic efficiency (FE) could reach 71.2 % with a current density of 12.1 mA cm−2 in 0.5 m [Bmim]BF4 MeCN solution, which are the highest values to date.