Highly selective and efficient reduction of CO2 to CO on cadmium electrodes derived from cadmium hydroxide.

A non-noble cadmium electrode was synthesized via an electrolysis strategy, which can electroreduce carbon dioxide into carbon monoxide with high selectivity and efficiency. The partial current density for CO can reach up to 59.0 mA cm-2 at a Faradaic efficiency of 99.2% using 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium hexafluorophosphate/acetonitrile as the electrolyte.