Structure-evolved YbBiO3 perovskites for highly formate-selective CO2 electroreduction.

The electrochemical reduction of CO2 (ERCO2) into economically valuable chemicals is one of the most promising ways to achieve carbon neutrality. Perovskite materials have shown potential applications in high-temperature catalysis and photocatalysis due to their unique structure, but their catalytic performance during the aqueous ERCO2 has rarely been investigated. In this study, we developed an efficient YbBiO3 perovskite catalyst (YBO@800) for CO2 conversion to formate, with a maximum faradaic efficiency of 98.3% at -0.9 VRHE, as well as a considerable faradaic efficiency (>90%) over a wide potential range (from -0.8 to -1.2 VRHE). Further analyses demonstrated that the structural evolution of YBO@800 occurred during the ERCO2 process, and the subsequent construction of the Bi/YbBiO3 heterostructure played a significant role in optimizing the rate-determining step of the ERCO2. This work inspires the development of perovskite catalysts for the ERCO2 and provides insight into the influence of the surface reconstruction of catalysts on their electrochemical performance.