Highly CO selective Ca and Zn hybrid metal-organic framework electrocatalyst for the electrochemical reduction of CO2

Abstract

A transition metal (Zn) and alkaline earth metal (Ca)-hybridized metal-organic framework (MOF) based electrocatalyst was synthesized using a one-pot process. The as-prepared ZnCa-MOF74 (ZC) catalyst exhibited a low overpotential, an excellent CO selectivity, and high stability in the electrochemical reduction of CO2 (ERC). The Faradaic efficiency of ZC towards CO was as high as 93%, which is two times higher than that of the Zn-MOF74 catalyst. The computational simulation also showed that Ca lowered the activation barrier of the rate-determining step during the ERC.