Tuning selectivity of electrochemical reduction reaction of CO2 by atomically dispersed Pt into SnO2 nanoparticles.

A novel atomically dispersed Pt into SnO 2 nanocatalyst has been designed by a facile hydrothermal crystallization process to achieve high selective electrochemical reduction of CO 2. Such catalyst can could induce charge redistribution and the formed low-coordinated Pt atoms tune the product selectivity, resulting in the high Faradaic efficiency of HCOOH of 82.1% at −1.2 V vs. RHE. [Display omitted] • Atomically dispersed Pt into SnO 2 nanocatalyst (Pt atom/SnO 2). • Pt atom/SnO 2 promotes the adsorption of intermediates CO 2 *, HCOO* and HCOOH*. • Pt atom/SnO 2 facilitates the conversion of CO 2 to HCOO* rather than HER. • FE HCOO - reaches 82.1% on the obtained sample at −1.2 V vs. RHE. Electrochemical reduction of CO 2 into fuels offers an attractive approach to environmental and energy sustainability. Herein, we designed atomically dispersed Pt into SnO 2 catalyst (Pt atom/SnO 2). Such catalyst dramatically improves the adsorption performance of CO 2 and lowers the activation energy of CO 2. DFT calculations indicate that the doping of Pt in SnO 2 could induce charge redistribution and tune active electronic state, showing higher adsorption energy for intermediates CO 2 *, HCOO* and HCOOH*, which is different from the Pt NPs loaded SnO 2 mainly for H 2 generation. As a result, a higher Faradaic efficiency (82.1 ± 1.4%) and the production rate (5105 μmol h−1 cm−2) of HCOO– are achieved at −1.2 V vs. RHE. Moreover, the current density and Faradaic efficiency of HCOO– nearly remain unchanged in 8 h on the Pt atom/SnO 2 , indicating its high stability. This work opens up a new avenue to tune product selectivity by atomically dispersed catalysts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]