Probing the Roles of Indium Oxides on Copper Catalysts for Enhanced Selectivity during CO2-to-CO Electrochemical Reduction

Yanyan Jia, Hua Shan Hsu, Wan Chun Huang, Da Wei Lee, Sheng Wei Lee, Tsan Yao Chen, Lihui Zhou, Jeng Han Wang*, Kuan Wen Wang*, Sheng Dai*

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

19 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

The electrochemical CO2 reduction reaction (CO2RR) provides an alternative protocol to producing industrial chemicals with renewable electricity sources, and the highly selective, durable, and economic catalysts should expedite CO2RR applications. Here, we demonstrate a composite Cu-In2O3 catalyst in which a trace amount of In2O3 decorated on Cu surface greatly improves the selectivity and stability for CO2-to-CO reduction as compared to the counterparts (Cu or In2O3), realizing a CO faradaic efficiency (FECO) of 95% at −0.7 V (vs RHE) and no obvious degradation within 7 h. In situ X-ray absorption spectroscopy reveals that In2O3 undergoes the redox reaction and preserves the metallic state of Cu during the CO2RR process. Strong electronic interaction and coupling occur at the Cu/In2O3 interface which serves as the active site for selective CO2RR. Theoretical calculation confirms the roles of In2O3 in preventing oxidation and altering the electronic structure of Cu to assist COOH* formation and demote CO* adsorption at the Cu/In2O3 interface.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)2262-2268
Number of pages7
JournalNano Letters
Volume23
Issue number6
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2023 Mar 22

Keywords

  • CORR
  • copper
  • density functional theory
  • in situ X-ray absorption spectroscopy
  • indium oxide

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Bioengineering
  • General Chemistry
  • General Materials Science
  • Condensed Matter Physics
  • Mechanical Engineering

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