Open AccessModulating Activity through Defect Engineering of Tin Oxides for Electrochemical CO 2 Reduction
Author(s) -
Daiyan Rahman,
Lovell Emma Catherine,
Bedford Nicholas M.,
Saputera Wibawa Hendra,
Wu KuangHsu,
Lim Sean,
Horlyck Jonathan,
Ng Yun Hau,
Lu Xunyu,
Amal Rose
Publication year - 2019
Publication title -
advanced science
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 5.388
H-Index - 100
ISSN - 2198-3844
DOI - 10.1002/advs.201900678
Subject(s) - materials science , formate , catalysis , electrochemistry , tin , chemical engineering , hydrogen production , tin dioxide , nanotechnology , pyrolysis , oxygen evolution , water splitting , electrode , chemistry , metallurgy , photocatalysis , organic chemistry , engineering
The large‐scale application of electrochemical reduction of CO 2 , as a viable strategy to mitigate the effects of anthropogenic climate change, is hindered by the lack of active and cost‐effective electrocatalysts that can be generated in bulk. To this end, SnO 2 nanoparticles that are prepared using the industrially adopted flame spray pyrolysis (FSP) technique as active catalysts are reported for the conversion of CO 2 to formate (HCOO − ), exhibiting a FE HCOO − of 85% with a current density of −23.7 mA cm −2 at an applied potential of −1.1 V versus reversible hydrogen electrode. Through tuning of the flame synthesis conditions, the amount of oxygen hole center (OHC; SnO●) is synthetically manipulated, which plays a vital role in CO 2 activation and thereby governing the high activity displayed by the FSP‐SnO 2 catalysts for formate production. The controlled generation of defects through a simple, scalable fabrication technique presents an ideal approach for rationally designing active CO 2 reduction reactions catalysts.