Selective electro-reduction of CO2 to formate on nanostructured Bi from reduction of BiOCl nanosheets

In this paper, we present our work on electrochemical reduction of CO2 under ambient conditions using a high-surface-area bismuth (HSA-Bi) catalyst, which is fabricated by electrochemical reduction of BiOCI nanosheets. This HSA-Bi catalyst exhibits surprising selectivity towards reduction of CO2 to formate with a high Faradic efficiency (similar to 92%). In addition, the activity of this catalyst remains stable during long-time electrolysis and maximum current density of similar to 3.7 mA mg(-1) could be obtained. The high activity is attributed to the special nanostructure of catalyst, as indicated by lower overpotential of CO2 reduction on HSA-Bi than that on commercial Bi powder. The HSA-Bi catalyst is believed to be a promising catalyst for further application. (C) 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.