Enhanced electrocatalytic CO_(2)reduction to formic acid using nanocomposites of In_(2)O_(3)@C with graphene

In_(2)O_(3)is an effective electrocatalyst to convert CO_(2)to formic acid(HCOOH),but its inherent poor electrical conductivity limits the efficient charge transfer during the reaction.Additionally,the tendency of In_(2)O_(3)particles to agglomerate during synthesis further limits the exposure of active sites.Here we address these issues by leveraging the template effect of graphene oxide and employing InBDC as a self-sacrificing template for the pyrolysis synthesis of In_(2)O_(3)@C.The resulting In_(2)O_(3)@C/rGO-600 material features In_(2)O_(3)@C nanocubes uniformly anchored on a support of reduced graphene oxide(rGO),significantly enhancing the active sites exposure.The conductive rGO network facilitates charge transfer during electrocatalysis,and the presence of oxygen vacancies generated during pyrolysis,combined with the strong electron-donating ability of rGO,enhances the adsorption and activation of CO_(2).In performance evaluation,In_(2)O_(3)@C/rGO-600 exhibits a remarkable HCOOH Faradaic efficiency exceeding 94.0%over a broad potential window of−0.7 to−1.0 V(vs.reversible hydrogen electrode(RHE)),with the highest value of 97.9%at−0.9 V(vs.RHE)in a H-cell.Moreover,the material demonstrates an excellent cathodic energy efficiency of 71.6%at−0.7 V(vs.RHE).The study underscores the efficacy of uniformly anchoring metal oxide nanoparticles onto rGO for enhancing the electrocatalytic CO_(2)reduction performance of materials.