Role of the oxide layer on Sn electrode in electrochemical reduction of CO2 to formate

The importance of oxide layer on Sn electrode to the efficiency of CO2 reduction has been evaluated by comparing the activities of Sn electrodes treated via etching and annealing. In KHCO3 aqueous solution saturated with CO2, Sn electrode with a native oxide layer exhibits high catalytic activity for CO2 reduction, in contrast, Sn electrode which is etched in HCl solution to remove the oxide layer or treated by annealing exhibits lower activity for CO2 reduction. If the etched Sn electrode is exposed in the air over 24 h, its catalytic performance for CO2 reduction will restore, meanwhile, the electrolysis current density for this electrode is around 1.5-fold than that for a untreated Sn electrode because the etching treatment makes the electrode rough and behave a larger superficial area. (C) 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.