Efficient CO2 Electroreduction on Ag2S Nanodots Modified CdS Nanorods as Cooperative Catalysts

CdS nanorods have been regarded as a promising candidate for electrocatalytic CO2 reduction compared with other chalcogenide catalysts, owing to the high Faradaic efficiency for producing CO in aqueous electrolyte. Unfortunately, the CO generation rate of the bare CdS is relatively low due to the poor intrinsic activity. In this work, we modify the surface of CdS nanorods by Ag2S nanodots to promote the CO2 reduction activity. With 5 wt % loading of Ag2S nanodots, we achieve the highest CO partial current density of 10.6 mA cm(-2) at an applied potential of -1.1 V vs RHE, 11 % and 93 % enhancement compared to the separately synthesized CdS and Ag2S, respectively. When using flow cell to accelerate the CO2 mass transfer, the cooperative catalyst realizes similar to 95 % Faradaic efficiency for C-1 products with a fast CO2 reduction rate at a current density of 200 mA cm(-2).

Automated summary

By modifying the surface of CdS nanorods with Ag2S nanodots, the CO2 reduction activity was enhanced, achieving a high CO partial current density of 10.6 mA cm(-2), demonstrating the effectiveness of the cooperative catalyst with a fast CO2 reduction rate and 95% Faradaic efficiency for C-1 products at a current density of 200 mA cm(-2) when using a flow cell.