Boosting CO2 electrocatalysis through electrical double layer regulations
Qun Fan,
Guangxu Bao,
Hai Liu,
Yihan Xu,
Xiaoyi Chen,
Xiangrui Zhang,
Kai Li,
Peng Kang,
Sheng Zhang,
Xinbin Ma
Affiliations
Qun Fan
Key Laboratory for Green Chemical Technology of Ministry of Education, Collaborative Innovation Centre of Chemical Science and Engineering, School of Chemical Engineering and Technology, Tianjin University, Tianjin 300072, China
Guangxu Bao
Key Laboratory for Green Chemical Technology of Ministry of Education, Collaborative Innovation Centre of Chemical Science and Engineering, School of Chemical Engineering and Technology, Tianjin University, Tianjin 300072, China
Hai Liu
Key Laboratory for Green Chemical Technology of Ministry of Education, Collaborative Innovation Centre of Chemical Science and Engineering, School of Chemical Engineering and Technology, Tianjin University, Tianjin 300072, China; School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Yancheng Institute of Technology, Yancheng 224051, China
Yihan Xu
Key Laboratory for Green Chemical Technology of Ministry of Education, Collaborative Innovation Centre of Chemical Science and Engineering, School of Chemical Engineering and Technology, Tianjin University, Tianjin 300072, China
Xiaoyi Chen
Key Laboratory for Green Chemical Technology of Ministry of Education, Collaborative Innovation Centre of Chemical Science and Engineering, School of Chemical Engineering and Technology, Tianjin University, Tianjin 300072, China
Xiangrui Zhang
Key Laboratory for Green Chemical Technology of Ministry of Education, Collaborative Innovation Centre of Chemical Science and Engineering, School of Chemical Engineering and Technology, Tianjin University, Tianjin 300072, China
Kai Li
Key Laboratory for Green Chemical Technology of Ministry of Education, Collaborative Innovation Centre of Chemical Science and Engineering, School of Chemical Engineering and Technology, Tianjin University, Tianjin 300072, China
Peng Kang
Key Laboratory for Green Chemical Technology of Ministry of Education, Collaborative Innovation Centre of Chemical Science and Engineering, School of Chemical Engineering and Technology, Tianjin University, Tianjin 300072, China
Sheng Zhang
Key Laboratory for Green Chemical Technology of Ministry of Education, Collaborative Innovation Centre of Chemical Science and Engineering, School of Chemical Engineering and Technology, Tianjin University, Tianjin 300072, China; Haihe Laboratory of Sustainable Chemical Transformations, Tianjin 300192, China; Corresponding author
Xinbin Ma
Key Laboratory for Green Chemical Technology of Ministry of Education, Collaborative Innovation Centre of Chemical Science and Engineering, School of Chemical Engineering and Technology, Tianjin University, Tianjin 300072, China; Haihe Laboratory of Sustainable Chemical Transformations, Tianjin 300192, China
Summary: Interfacial investigation for fine-tuning microenvironment has recently emerged as a promising method to optimize the electrochemical CO2 reduction system. The electrical double layer located at the electrode-electrolyte interface presents a particularly significant impact on electrochemical reactions. However, its effect on the activity and selectivity of CO2 electrocatalysis remains poorly understood. Here, we utilized two-dimensional mica flakes, a material with a high dielectric constant, to modify the electrical double layer of Ag nanoparticles. This modification resulted in a significant enhancement of current densities for CO2 reduction and an impressive Faradaic efficiency of 98% for CO production. Our mechanistic investigations suggest that the enhancement of the electrical double layer capacitance through mica modification enriched local CO2 concentration near the reaction interface, thus facilitating CO2 electroreduction.
