title: Ultrathin Co3O4 Layers Realizing Optimized CO2 Electroreduction to Formate.
abstract: Electroreduction of CO2 into hydrocarbons could contribute to alleviating energy crisis and global warming. However, conventional electrocatalysts usually suffer from low energetic efficiency and poor durability. Herein, atomic layers for transition-metal oxides are proposed to address these problems through offering an ultralarge fraction of active sites, high electronic conductivity, and superior structural stability. As a prototype, 1.72 and 3.51 nm thick Co3O4 layers were synthesized through a fast-heating strategy. The atomic thickness endowed Co3O4 with abundant active sites, ensuring a large CO2 adsorption amount. The increased and more dispersed charge density near Fermi level allowed for enhanced electronic conductivity. The 1.72 nm thick Co3O4 layers showed over 1.5 and 20 times higher electrocatalytic activity than 3.51 nm thick Co3O4 layers and bulk counterpart, respectively. Also, 1.72 nm thick Co3O4 layers showed formate Faradaic efficiency of over 60% in 20 h.
authors.affiliation: Hefei National Laboratory for Physical Sciences at Microscale, Collaborative Innovation Center of Chemistry for Energy Materials, University of Science & Technology of China, Hefei, Anhui 230026 (P. R. China).
authors.forename: Shan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Gao
authors.affiliation: Hefei National Laboratory for Physical Sciences at Microscale, Collaborative Innovation Center of Chemistry for Energy Materials, University of Science & Technology of China, Hefei, Anhui 230026 (P. R. China).
authors.forename: Xingchen
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Jiao
authors.affiliation: Hefei National Laboratory for Physical Sciences at Microscale, Collaborative Innovation Center of Chemistry for Energy Materials, University of Science & Technology of China, Hefei, Anhui 230026 (P. R. China).
authors.forename: Zhongti
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Sun
authors.affiliation: Hefei National Laboratory for Physical Sciences at Microscale, Collaborative Innovation Center of Chemistry for Energy Materials, University of Science & Technology of China, Hefei, Anhui 230026 (P. R. China).
authors.forename: Wenhua
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: Hefei National Laboratory for Physical Sciences at Microscale, Collaborative Innovation Center of Chemistry for Energy Materials, University of Science & Technology of China, Hefei, Anhui 230026 (P. R. China). yfsun@ustc.edu.cn.
authors.forename: Yongfu
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Sun
authors.affiliation: Hefei National Laboratory for Physical Sciences at Microscale, Collaborative Innovation Center of Chemistry for Energy Materials, University of Science & Technology of China, Hefei, Anhui 230026 (P. R. China).
authors.forename: Chengming
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Hefei National Laboratory for Physical Sciences at Microscale, Collaborative Innovation Center of Chemistry for Energy Materials, University of Science & Technology of China, Hefei, Anhui 230026 (P. R. China).
authors.forename: Qitao
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Hu
authors.affiliation: Hefei National Laboratory for Physical Sciences at Microscale, Collaborative Innovation Center of Chemistry for Energy Materials, University of Science & Technology of China, Hefei, Anhui 230026 (P. R. China).
authors.forename: Xiaolong
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Zu
authors.affiliation: Hefei National Laboratory for Physical Sciences at Microscale, Collaborative Innovation Center of Chemistry for Energy Materials, University of Science & Technology of China, Hefei, Anhui 230026 (P. R. China).
authors.forename: Fan
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.affiliation: Hefei National Laboratory for Physical Sciences at Microscale, Collaborative Innovation Center of Chemistry for Energy Materials, University of Science & Technology of China, Hefei, Anhui 230026 (P. R. China).
authors.forename: Shuyang
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.affiliation: Hefei National Laboratory for Physical Sciences at Microscale, Collaborative Innovation Center of Chemistry for Energy Materials, University of Science & Technology of China, Hefei, Anhui 230026 (P. R. China).
authors.forename: Liang
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Liang
authors.affiliation: Hefei National Laboratory for Physical Sciences at Microscale, Collaborative Innovation Center of Chemistry for Energy Materials, University of Science & Technology of China, Hefei, Anhui 230026 (P. R. China).
authors.forename: Ju
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Wu
authors.affiliation: Hefei National Laboratory for Physical Sciences at Microscale, Collaborative Innovation Center of Chemistry for Energy Materials, University of Science & Technology of China, Hefei, Anhui 230026 (P. R. China). yxie@ustc.edu.cn.
authors.forename: Yi
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Xie
keywords: CO2 electroreduction; atomic layers; cobalt oxide; formate