Exploiting the Functionality of Cerium Oxide-Modifed Carbon Nanohorns Catalysts Toward Enhanced CO2 Reduction Performance

Abstract

The suitable interfacial combination of CeO 2 and oxidized carbon nanohorns(CeO2 @oxCNHs) is instrumental to the control of the activity and selectivityin CO2 reduction reaction (CO2 RR). This study presents a newly developedsynthetic approach that integrates the CeO 2 and CNH to form extendedinterfacial domains, resulting in a higher performance for CO 2 RR ascompared with previously reported ceria-nanocarbon catalysts. In particular,detailed electrochemical characterization reveals that the CeO2 @oxCNHsnanocomposite synthesized with this newly developed solvothermal methodexhibits up to ten times higher current density (j) than its counterpartprepared by conventional sol-gel method and can be effectively integrated intoa state-of-the-art gas diffusion electrode (GDE) device. The combination ofhigh-surface area oxCNH with the gas diffusion electrode configurationboosts the CeO2 efficiency in converting CO2 to products involving C─Ccouplings as ethanol and acetaldehyde, even at very low overpotentials,offering a promising pathway for developing nanocomposite materials forCO2 reduction.