Carburized In2O3 Nanorods Endow CO2 Electroreduction to Formate at 1 A cm-2

The double high index of current density and Faradaic efficiency in carbon dioxide electroreduction is a great challenge. Herein, we synthesized carburized indium oxide nanorods (In2O3-C) by pyrolysis of the metal-organic framework (MOF) precursor [MIL -68 (In)]. The electronic structure of In was regulated, and the localization of negative charges was increased on the surface of the In2O3-C catalyst, resulting in a high Faradaic efficiency of 97.2% at -1.0 V vs RHE and above 90% in a wide potential range of 500 mV. Furthermore, it reached a current density of -1.0 A center dot cm-2 in the flow cell for producing formate efficiently. The complete reaction path from CO2 to formate on In2O3-C was in situ investigated by attenuated total reflection surface-enhanced infrared adsorption spectroscopy and 2D/ 3D surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy.

Automated summary

By synthesizing carburized indium oxide nanorods (In2O3-C), the electronic structure of indium was regulated, resulting in a high Faradaic efficiency of 97.2% and a wide potential range of above 90% current density. In addition, it efficiently produced formate in the flow cell.