Surface Charge Transfer Enhanced Cobalt‐Phthalocyanine Crystals for Efficient CO <sub>2</sub> ‐to‐CO Electroreduction with Large Current Density Exceeding 1000 mA cm <sup>−2</sup>
Phthalocyanines (Pcs) have garnered significant attention as promising catalysts for electrochemical CO<sub>2</sub> reduction (ECR); however, traditional methods for preparing carbon-supported Pcs are often complex and time-consuming, limiting their industrial applicability. Herein, a rapid spray-growth method is introduced that directly deposits CoPc crystals onto carbon paper (CP) in just 15 min. The resulting CoPc/CP electrode maintains > 90% CO selectivity across a broad ECR window (-0.57 to -1.32 V vs RHE), achieves a record-breaking CO current density of -1034 mA cm<sup>-2</sup>, an ultrahigh mass activity of 5180 A g<sup>-1</sup>, and demonstrates excellent long-term stability (145 h @ -150 mA cm<sup>-2</sup>), surpassing all reported Pc-based catalysts. Comprehensive characterization attributes this high performance to its carbon-supported-crystalline structure and surface charge transfer (SCT). Density functional theory (DFT) calculations further reveal that even minimal SCT effectively optimizes the adsorption energies of key intermediates (<sup>*</sup>CO and <sup>*</sup>COOH), thereby significantly enhancing intrinsic activity. Moreover, this spray-grown electrode offers unique structural advantages, such as strong substrate adhesion and internal layers that replenish active sites-features absent in traditional carbon-supported electrodes. It is believed that this facile spray-growth method holds broad potential and enables the application of additional Pc-based materials for industrial-scale ECR.
Authors
- Yasutaka Matsuo (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5071-0284)
- Kosuke Ishibashi (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2572-2002)
- Yutaro Hirai (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5666-1639)
- Hiroshi Yabu (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1943-6790)
- Shimpei Ono (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1514-8879)
- Junya Yoshida (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9398-746X)
- Tengyi Liu (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3581-1842)
- Naoto Todoroki (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4811-6398)
- Hao Li (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7577-1366)
- Di Zhang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6347-9344)
- Koju Ito (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7536-1201)
Institutions
- Tohoku University (JP)
- Hokkaido University (JP)
- Advanced Institute of Materials Science (JP)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Advanced Science
- Published
- 2025-04-04
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1002/advs.202501459
- Citations
- 7
- Primary Topic
- CO2 Reduction Techniques and Catalysts
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 2.54
Funders
- Hirose Foundation
- Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology
- National Natural Science Foundation of China
- University of Tokyo
- Shanghai Jiao Tong University
- Hokkaido University
- Steel Foundation for Environmental Protection Technology
- Japan Society for the Promotion of Science
- Institute for Materials Research, Tohoku University
- Division of Materials Research
- Precursory Research for Embryonic Science and Technology
- JST-Mirai Program