Solar reduction of carbon dioxide on copper-tin electrocatalysts with energy conversion efficiency near 20%

Jing Gao (), Jun Li, Yuhang Liu, Meng Xia, Y. Zou Finfrock, Shaik Mohammed Zakeeruddin, Dan Ren () and Michael Grätzel ()
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Jing Gao: École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne
Jun Li: École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne
Yuhang Liu: École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne
Meng Xia: École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne
Y. Zou Finfrock: Argonne National Laboratory
Shaik Mohammed Zakeeruddin: École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne
Dan Ren: École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne
Michael Grätzel: École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne

Nature Communications, 2022, vol. 13, issue 1, 1-11

Abstract: Abstract Copper catalysts modified with tin have been demonstrated to be selective for the electroreduction of carbon dioxide to carbon monoxide. However, such catalysts require the precise control of tin loading amount. Here, we develop a copper/tin-oxide catalyst with dominant tin oxide surface being formed via a spontaneous exchange reaction between sputtered tin and copper oxide. Even though the surface of this catalyst is tin-rich, it achieves an excellent performance towards carbon monoxide production in a flow cell. This contrasts with copper/tin-oxide prepared via atomic layer deposition since it yields selectivity towards carbon monoxide only on a copper-rich surface. Mechanism studies reveal that the tin sites on the tin-rich copper/tin-oxide surface achieve a suitable binding with adsorbed carbon monoxide under the presence of copper. Powered by a triple-junction solar cell, the copper/tin-oxide based electrolyzer sets a new benchmark solar-to-chemical energy conversion efficiency of 19.9 percent with a Faradaic efficiency of 98.9 percent towards carbon monoxide under simulated standard air mass 1.5 global illumination.

Date: 2022
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DOI: 10.1038/s41467-022-33049-7

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