Boron Dopant Modulated Electron Localization of Tin Oxide for Efficient Electrochemical CO2 Reduction to Formate

Sn-based electrocatalysts have great economic potential in the reduction of CO2 to HCOOH, while they still suffer from low current density, dissatisfactory selectivity, and poor stability. Inspired by electronic modification engineering, boron-doped SnO2 nanospheres (B-SnO2) are successfully synthesized to achieve high-efficiency CO2 reduction reaction (CO2RR). It is found that the introduction of boron dopants can increase the number of active sites and facilitate the formation of the electron-rich Sn sites in its structure, thus enhancing the activation of CO2 molecules and reducing the energy barrier of *OCHO intermediates on the SnO2 surface. Thus, the B-doped SnO2 electrocatalyst exhibits a remarkable FEHCOOH above 90% within a broad potential window of -0.7 to -1.3 V versus reversible hydrogen electrode (RHE) (600 mV) and obtains the maximum value of 95.1% (the partial current density of HCOOH is 42.35 mA cm(-2)) at -1 V versus RHE. In conclusion, this work provides a novel strategy for optimizing the intrinsic properties of electrocatalysts for CO2RR by the method of tuning the electronic structure.

Automated summary

Inspired by electronic modification engineering, boron-doped SnO2 nanospheres are synthesized to enhance the efficiency of CO2 reduction reaction. The introduction of boron dopants increases the number of active sites and facilitates the formation of electron-rich Sn sites, resulting in enhanced CO2 activation and reduced energy barrier. The B-doped SnO2 electrocatalyst exhibits a remarkable FEHCOOH value above 90% within a broad potential window and achieves a maximum value of 95.1% at -1 V vs RHE, indicating its high performance in CO2RR. This work provides a novel strategy for optimizing the intrinsic properties of electrocatalysts for CO2RR by tuning the electronic structure.