Low‐Coordination Indium Single‐Atom Sites Anchored on a Metal‐Organic Framework Single‐Layer Boosts Electroreduction of CO <sub>2</sub> Into Formic Acid
The electroreduction of CO<sub>2</sub> under acidic conditions presents both scientific significance and technical challenges. Herein, we developed a post-synthetic modification strategy to anchor unexpected tetrahedral In(III) ions onto Zr-oxo clusters of a single-layer zirconium metal-organic framework (denoted as Zr-MOF-In). Operating under harsh acidic conditions (pH = 1.67) at -1.8 V versus RHE, the Zr-MOF-In catalyst demonstrates exceptional performance with 95.7% Faradaic efficiency for formic acid production and a current density of 213.3 mA cm<sup>-2</sup>. The system maintains operational stability over 20 h without notable activity decay. Remarkably, when integrated into a membrane electrode assembly electrolyzer with solid-state electrolyte at 4 V full-cell voltage, Zr-MOF-In continuously generates pure formic acid solution (505.5 mmol L<sup>-1</sup>, 100% purity) free of electrolyte contamination, achieving a concentration 1.5-fold higher than the current state-of-the-art. Mechanistic investigations identify dual enhancement mechanisms: i) the low-coordinated In(III) single-atom sites facilitate dual *HCOO intermediate binding, enhancing reaction kinetics beyond conventional single-intermediate adsorption on high-coordination metal centers; and ii) the single-layer MOF configuration optimizes active site exposure, synergistically maximizing catalytic efficiency.
Authors
- Pei‐Qin Liao (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5888-1283)
- Jia‐Run Huang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0009-7649-1006)
- Haolin Zhu (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2829-7742)
- Zhenhua Zhao
- Junyi Li (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5410-9798)
- Xiao‐Ming Chen (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3353-7918)
Institutions
- Sun Yat-sen University (CN)
- Ji Hua Laboratory (CN)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Angewandte Chemie International Edition
- Published
- 2025-06-30
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1002/anie.202511132
- Citations
- 18
- Primary Topic
- CO2 Reduction Techniques and Catalysts
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 6.54
Funders
- National Natural Science Foundation of China
- Sun Yat-sen University
- National Key Research and Development Program of China
- Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities