Interface Catalysts of In Situ-Grown TiO<sub>2</sub>/MXenes for High-Faraday-Efficiency CO<sub>2</sub> Reduction

Climate change and the global energy crisis have led to an increasing need for greenhouse gas remediation and clean energy sources. The electrochemical CO<sub>2</sub> reduction reaction (CO<sub>2</sub>RR) is a promising solution for both issues as it harvests waste CO<sub&...

Full description

Bibliographic Details
Published in:Molecules
Main Authors: Shaun Debow, Zichen Shen, Arjun Sathyan Kulathuvayal, Fuzhan Song, Tong Zhang, Haley Fisher, Jesse B. Brown, Yuqin Qian, Zhi-Chao Huang-Fu, Hui Wang, Zachary Zander, Mark S. Mirotznik, Robert L. Opila, Yanqing Su, Yi Rao
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2025-10-01
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/1420-3049/30/19/4025
Description
Summary:Climate change and the global energy crisis have led to an increasing need for greenhouse gas remediation and clean energy sources. The electrochemical CO<sub>2</sub> reduction reaction (CO<sub>2</sub>RR) is a promising solution for both issues as it harvests waste CO<sub>2</sub> and chemically reduces it to more useful forms. However, the high overpotential required for the reaction makes it electrochemically unfavorable. Here, we fabricate a novel electrode composed of TiO<sub>2</sub> nanoparticles grown in situ on MXene charge acceptor 2D sheets with excellent CO<sub>2</sub>RR characteristics. A straightforward solvothermal method was used to grow the nanoparticles on the Ti<sub>3</sub>C<sub>2</sub>T<i><sub>x</sub></i> MXene flakes. The electrochemical performance of the TiO<sub>2</sub>/MXene electrodes was analyzed. The Faradaic efficiencies of the TiO<sub>2</sub>/MXene electrodes were determined, with a value of 99.41% at −1.9 V (vs. Ag/AgCl). Density functional theory mechanistic analysis was used to reveal the most likely mechanism resulting in the production of one CO molecule along with a carbonate anion through ∗CO, ∗O, and activated CO<sub>2</sub><sup>2−</sup> intermediates. Bader charge analysis corroborated this pathway, showing that CO<sub>2</sub> gains a greater negative charge when TiO<sub>2</sub>/MXene serves as a catalyst compared to MXene or TiO<sub>2</sub> alone. These results show that TiO<sub>2</sub>/MXene nanocomposite electrodes may be very useful in the conversion of CO<sub>2</sub> while still being efficient in both time and cost.
ISSN:1420-3049