Bismuth Iron Oxide Catalysts for Efficient CO2 Electroreduction to Formate.

ABSTRACT

Renewable energy-driven electrocatalytic CO2 reduction reaction (CO2RR) over bismuth-based catalysts shows great promise for converting CO2 into formic acid and formate while closing the carbon cycle. Herein, we report a high-performance BiFeO3/Bi25FeO40 precatalyst, which delivers a formate partial current density of 359.8 mA cm-2 and a formate formation rate of 6.71 mmol h-1 cm-2 in a flow cell at -0.75 V versus reversible hydrogen electrode (vs RHE). Furthermore, it shows stable formate production for 88 h at -0.64 V vs RHE with a total current density of 160 mA cm-2. The impressive electrocatalytic performance toward CO2RR to formate is likely ascribed to the synergistic effect of single Bi atoms and bimetallic BiFe nanoparticles present in close proximity after in situ electrochemical reconstruction of the BiFeO3/Bi25FeO40 precatalyst. This work presents new insights into the development of highly efficient Bi-based catalysts for the CO2RR.