Bismuth with abundant defects for electrocatalytic CO2 reduction and Zn–CO2 batteries

To regulate the electronic structure of Bi sites and enhance their intrinsic activity, metal Bi with abundant defects was constructed. The optimized sample displayed a higher selectivity (93.9% at −0.9 V) and a larger current density (−10 mA cm−2 at −1.0 V) towards electrocatalytic CO2 reduction to formate, which can be mainly attributed to abundant defect sites and the optimized electronic structure. The assembled Zn–CO2 batteries displayed a power density of 1.16 mW cm−2 and a cycling stability up to 22 h. This work deepens the research of Bi-based catalysts towards CO2 transformation and related energy devices.