Tuning Sn-Catalysis for Electrochemical Reduction of CO₂ to CO via the Core/Shell Cu/SnO₂ Structure

Abstract

Tin (Sn) is known to be a good catalyst for electrochemical reduction of CO 2 to formate in 0.5 M KHCO 3 . But when a thin layer of SnO 2 is coated over Cu nanoparticles, the reduction becomes Sn-thickness dependent: the thicker (1.8 nm) shell shows Sn-like activity to generate formate whereas the thinner (0.8 nm) shell is selective to the formation of CO with the conversion Faradaic efficiency (FE) reaching 93% at −0.7 V (vs reversible hydrogen electrode (RHE)). Theoretical calculations suggest that the 0.8 nm SnO 2 shell likely alloys with trace of Cu, causing the SnO 2 lattice to be uniaxially compressed and favors the production of CO over formate. The report demonstrates a new strategy to tune NP catalyst selectivity for the electrochemical reduction of CO 2 via the tunable core/shell structure.