Promoting exsolution of RuFe alloy nanoparticles on Sr<sub>2</sub>Fe<sub>1.4</sub>Ru<sub>0.1</sub>Mo<sub>0.5</sub>O<sub>6-δ</sub> via repeated redox manipulations for CO<sub>2</sub> electrolysis.

Lv, Houfu; Lin, Le; Zhang, Xiaomin; Li, Rongtan; Song, Yuefeng; Matsumoto, Hiroaki; Ta, Na; Zeng, Chaobin et al. · Nat Commun · 2021

basic_science · Level V

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Abstract

Metal nanoparticles anchored on perovskite through in situ exsolution under reducing atmosphere provide catalytically active metal/oxide interfaces for CO<sub>2</sub> electrolysis in solid oxide electrolysis cell. However, there are critical challenges to obtain abundant metal/oxide interfaces due to the sluggish diffusion process of dopant cations inside the bulk perovskite. Herein, we propose a strategy to promote exsolution of RuFe alloy nanoparticles on Sr<sub>2</sub>Fe<sub>1.4</sub>Ru<sub>0.1</sub>Mo<sub>0.5</sub>O<sub>6-δ</sub> perovskite by enriching the active Ru underneath the perovskite surface via repeated redox manipulations. In situ scanning transmission electron microscopy demonstrates the dynamic structure evolution of Sr<sub>2</sub>Fe<sub>1.4</sub>Ru<sub>0.1</sub>Mo<sub>0.5</sub>O<sub>6-δ</sub> perovskite under reducing and oxidizing atmosphere, as well as the facilitated CO<sub>2</sub> adsorption at RuFe@Sr<sub>2</sub>Fe<sub>1.4</sub>Ru<sub>0.1</sub>Mo<sub>0.5</sub>O<sub>6-δ</sub> interfaces. Solid oxide electrolysis cell with RuFe@Sr<sub>2</sub>Fe<sub>1.4</sub>Ru<sub>0.1</sub>Mo<sub>0.5</sub>O<sub>6-δ</sub> interfaces shows over 74.6% enhancement in current density of CO<sub>2</sub> electrolysis compared to that with Sr<sub>2</sub>Fe<sub>1.4</sub>Ru<sub>0.1</sub>Mo<sub>0.5</sub>O<sub>6-δ</sub> counterpart as well as impressive stability for 1000 h at 1.2 V and 800 °C.