Large‐Current CO<sub>2</sub> Electromethanation Through Active Hydrogen Regulation Over Carbon Nitride
Electromethanation of CO<sub>2</sub> has received intensive attention due to its high calorific value and convenient storage along with transportation to accommodate industrial demands. However, it is limited by sluggish multi-step proton-coupled electron transfer kinetics and undesired <sup>*</sup>H coupling under high current density, posing great challenges to its commercialization. Herein, carbon nitride (CN) with superior hydrogen adsorption ability is used as an active-hydrogen adsorption and supply material. Through a facile liquid-assisted exfoliation and electrostatic self-assembly strategy to strengthen its interfacial contacts with Cu<sub>2</sub>O catalysts, yielding a strengthened CH<sub>4</sub> production 52 times higher than that of pristine Cu<sub>2</sub>O. Flow-cell test ultimately achieved FE<sub>CH4</sub> and remarkably CH<sub>4</sub> partial current density of 61% and 561 mA cm<sup>-2</sup>, respectively. With in situ ATR-FTIR spectra and DFT calculations, it is established that strengthened interfaces enabled abundant <sup>*</sup>H tethered by ─C─N═C─ sites in CN nanosheets and oriented to the <sup>*</sup>CO hydrogenation to <sup>*</sup>CHO and <sup>*</sup>CHx on Cu species. This work reveals the profound influence of fine-expanded interfaces with dimensional materials on the product distribution and yield through the active-hydrogen management, which is of reference value for other small-molecule electro-polarization dominated by the proton-coupled electron transfer (PCET) process (e.g., N<sub>2</sub>, O<sub>2</sub>, etc.).
Authors
- Tianying Zhang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2477-329X)
- Qun Fan (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5487-7321)
- Xindi Li (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0007-2467-7074)
- Haoyuan Chi (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9494-9676)
- Jianlong Lin (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2111-6144)
- Tianxiang Yan (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8977-7155)
- Hai Liu (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3196-1504)
- Sheng Zhang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7532-1923)
- Xinbin Ma (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2210-0518)
- Yaxin Jin
- Hui Wang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8478-9990)
Institutions
- Tianjin University (CN)
- Unité Matériaux et Transformations (FR)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Small
- Published
- 2024-11-13
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1002/smll.202408600
- Citations
- 4
- Primary Topic
- CO2 Reduction Techniques and Catalysts
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.41
Funders
- National Natural Science Foundation of China
- National Key Research and Development Program of China