Synergistic oxygen vacancy and Zn-doping on SnO2 nanosheets for enhanced electrochemical CO2 conversion

Defects engineering is one of the effective strategies to advance the CO2 conversion into value-added chemicals and fuels during the electrochemical process. It is noteworthy that multiple defects are often associated in the reaction process, hence how to stimulate their synergistic effect is extremely important, but still lacks in-depth understanding. Herein, SnO2 nanosheets with simultaneous oxygen vacancies and Zn dopants (Zn-Vo-SnO2), as a proof-of-concept study, were proposed to elucidate the synergistic effect of multiple defects on enhanced CO2-to-C-1 conversion. Zn-Vo-SnO2, which is prepared by coupling a facile hydrothermal reaction and a subsequent desulfurization, yields the C-1 products at the lower applied potential, and maintains the FEC1 of about 95% at -0.80 V vs. RHE for a long-term operation. Evidences from systematic experiment and theoretical calculation corroborate that the charge redistribution caused by the oxygen vacancies and Zn-doping synergistically energize the CO2 conversion, in the term of the CO2 adsorption, the hydrogenation of CO2 and intermediates, and the thermodynamic energies of the rate-determining steps. This study has an insight into defect engineering to design advanced electrocatalysts for implementable CO2 recycling and utilization. (c) 2022 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Automated summary

This study investigates the synergistic effect of multiple defects on enhanced CO2-to-C-1 conversion by introducing oxygen vacancies and Zn dopants into SnO2 nanosheets. The results demonstrate that the charge redistribution caused by these defects synergistically energizes the CO2 conversion process. The findings provide valuable insights into defect engineering for designing advanced electrocatalysts for CO2 recycling and utilization.