Nanotechnology

Organic chemistry

Surface reconstruction

Mathematics

Engineering

Catalysis

Inorganic chemistry

Chemistry

Materials science

Surface (topology)

Geometry

In situ

Formate

Chemical engineering

Nano Letters

Probing and understanding the intrinsic active sites of electrocatalysts is crucial to unravel the underlying mechanism of CO2 electroreduction and provide a prospective for the rational design of high-performance electrocatalysts. However, their structure–activity relationships are not straightforward because electrocatalysts might reconstruct under realistic working conditions. Herein, we employ in-situ measurements to unveil the intrinsic origin of the InN nanosheets which served as an efficient electrocatalyst for CO2 reduction with a high faradaic efficiency of 95% for carbonaceous product. During the CO2 electroreduction, InN nanosheets reconstructed to form the In-rich surface. Density functional theory calculations revealed that the reconstruction of InN led to the redistribution of surface charge that significantly promoted the adsorption of HCOO* intermediates and thus benefited the formation of formate toward CO2 electroreduction. This work establishes a fundamental understanding on the mechanism associated with self-reconstruction of heterogeneous catalysts toward CO2 electroreduction.

<i>In-Situ</i> Surface Reconstruction of InN Nanosheets for Efficient CO<sub>2</sub> Electroreduction into Formate

In-Situ Surface Reconstruction of InN Nanosheets for Efficient CO2 Electroreduction into Formate

In-Situ Surface Reconstruction of InN Nanosheets for Efficient CO₂ Electroreduction into Formate