Ternary Sn‐Ti‐O Electrocatalyst Boosts the Stability and Energy Efficiency of CO<sub>2</sub> Reduction
Guobin Wen, Bohua Ren, Moon Gyu Park, Jie Yang, Haozhen Dou, Zhen Zhang, Ya‐Ping Deng, Zhengyu Bai, Lin Yang, Jeff T. Gostick, Gianluigi A. Botton, Yongfeng Hu, Zhongwei Chen
Abstract
Abstract Simultaneously improving energy efficiency (EE) and material stability in electrochemical CO 2 conversion remains an unsolved challenge. Among a series of ternary Sn‐Ti‐O electrocatalysts, 3D ordered mesoporous (3DOM) Sn 0.3 Ti 0.7 O 2 achieves a trade‐off between active‐site exposure and structural stability, demonstrating up to 71.5 % half‐cell EE over 200 hours, and a 94.5 % Faradaic efficiency for CO at an overpotential as low as 430 mV. DFT and X‐ray absorption fine structure analyses reveal an electron density reconfiguration in the Sn‐Ti‐O system. A downshift of the orbital band center of Sn and a charge depletion of Ti collectively facilitate the dissociative adsorption of the desired intermediate COOH* for CO formation. It is also beneficial in maintaining a local alkaline environment to suppress H 2 and formate formation, and in stabilizing oxygen atoms to prolong durability. These findings provide a new strategy in materials design for efficient CO 2 conversion and beyond.