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Molecular Modification of Single Cobalt Sites Boosts the Catalytic Activity of CO 2 Electroreduction into CO
Author(s) -
Zhong Yongzhi,
Kong Xiangdong,
Geng Zhigang,
Zeng Jie,
Luo Xuan,
Zhang Lin
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
chemphyschem
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.016
H-Index - 140
eISSN - 1439-7641
pISSN - 1439-4235
DOI - 10.1002/cphc.202000576
Subject(s) - catalysis , cobalt , phthalocyanine , chemistry , faraday efficiency , electrocatalyst , reversible hydrogen electrode , electrode , inorganic chemistry , electrochemistry , working electrode , organic chemistry
Electroreduction of CO 2 into carbonaceous fuels or industrial chemicals using renewable energy sources is an ideal way to promote global carbon recycling. Thus, it is of great importance to develop highly selective, efficient, and stable catalysts. Herein, we prepared cobalt single atoms (Co SAs) coordinated with phthalocyanine (Co SAs‐Pc). The anchoring of phthalocyanine with Co sites enabled electron transfer from Co sites to CO 2 effectively via the π‐conjugated system, resulting in high catalytic performance of CO 2 electroreduction into CO. During the process of CO 2 electroreduction, the Faradaic efficiency (FE) of Co SAs‐Pc for CO was as high as 94.8 %. Meanwhile, the partial current density of Co SAs‐Pc for CO was −11.3 mA cm −2 at −0.8 V versus the reversible hydrogen electrode ( vs RHE), 18.83 and 2.86 times greater than those of Co SAs (−0.60 mA cm −2 ) and commercial Co phthalocyanine (−3.95 mA cm −2 ), respectively. In an H‐cell system operating at −0.8 V vs RHE over 10 h, the current density and FE for CO of Co SAs‐Pc dropped by 3.2 % and 2.5 %. A mechanistic study revealed that the promoted catalytic performance of Co SAs‐Pc could be attributed to the accelerated reaction kinetics and facilitated CO 2 activation.