Interface Catalysts of In Situ-Grown TiO2/MXenes for High-Faraday-Efficiency CO2 Reduction

作者：Shaun Debow, Zichen Shen, Arjun S. Kulathuvayal, Fuzhan Song, Tong Zhang, Haley Fisher, Jesse B. Brown, Yuqin Qian, Zhi-Chao Huang-Fu, Hui Wang, Zachary Zander, Mark S. Mirotznik, R. L. Opila, Yanqing Su, Yi Rao · 发表于：Molecules · 年份：2025 · DOI：10.3390/molecules30194025 · 被引用次数：2 · 研究领域：MXene and MAX Phase Materials、Advanced Photocatalysis Techniques、CO2 Reduction Techniques and Catalysts

Climate change and the global energy crisis have led to an increasing need for greenhouse gas remediation and clean energy sources. The electrochemical CO2 reduction reaction (CO2RR) is a promising solution for both issues as it harvests waste CO2 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 TiO2 nanoparticles grown in situ on MXene charge acceptor 2D sheets with excellent CO2RR characteristics. A straightforward solvothermal method was used to grow the nanoparticles on the Ti3C2Tx MXene flakes. The electrochemical performance of the TiO2/MXene electrodes was analyzed. The Faradaic efficiencies of the TiO2/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 CO22− intermediates. Bader charge analysis corroborated this pathway, showing that CO2 gains a greater negative charge when TiO2/MXene serves as a catalyst compared to MXene or TiO2 alone. These results show that TiO2/MXene nanocomposite electrodes may be very useful in the conversion of CO2 while still being efficient in both time and cost.