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Abundant Ce 3+ Ions in Au‐CeO x Nanosheets to Enhance CO 2 Electroreduction Performance
Author(s) -
Dong Hao,
Zhang Lei,
Li Lulu,
Deng Wanyu,
Hu Congling,
Zhao ZhiJian,
Gong Jinlong
Publication year - 2019
Publication title -
small
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 3.785
H-Index - 236
eISSN - 1613-6829
pISSN - 1613-6810
DOI - 10.1002/smll.201900289
Subject(s) - overpotential , faraday efficiency , materials science , transition metal , selectivity , electrochemistry , metal , catalysis , nanoparticle , absorption (acoustics) , ion , inorganic chemistry , electrode , chemistry , nanotechnology , metallurgy , biochemistry , organic chemistry , composite material
The electroreduction of CO 2 to CO provides a potential way to solve the environmental problems caused by excess fossil fuel utilization. Loading transition metals on metal oxides is an efficient strategy for CO 2 electroreduction as well as for reducing metal usage. However, it needs a great potential to overcome the energy barrier to increase CO selectivity. This paper describes how 8.7 wt% gold nanoparticles (NPs) loaded on CeO x nanosheets (NSs) with high Ce 3+ concentration effectively decrease the overpotential for CO 2 electroreduction. The 3.6 nm gold NPs on CeO x NSs containing 47.3% Ce 3+ achieve CO faradaic efficiency of 90.1% at −0.5 V in 0.1 m KHCO 3 solution. Furthermore, the CO 2 electroreduction activity shows a strong relationship with the fractions of Ce 3+ on Au‐CeO x NSs, which has never been reported. In situ surface‐enhanced infrared absorption spectroscopy shows that Au‐CeO x NSs with high Ce 3+ concentration promote CO 2 activation and *COOH formation. Theoretical calculations also indicate that the improved performance is attributed to the enhanced *COOH formation on Au‐CeO x NSs with high Ce 3+ fraction.