Nanosized LaInO3 perovskite for efficient electrocatalytic reduction of CO2 to formate

Perovskite oxides have been widely used as catalyst due to their ordered structure, diverse chemical range and outstanding properties. However, there are few studies on the application of perovskite oxides in CO2 electrocatalytic reduction reaction (CO2RR). In this paper, nanosized LaInO3 perovskite catalyst was successfully synthesized and applied to CO2RR. It displays excellent activity for formate production. The highest faradaic efficiency of formate reaches 91.4 % and the partial current density of formate is 106.8 mA cm−2 at a moderate overpotential of 0.9 V. Additionally, in a wide potential range (−0.8 ∼ −1.3 V vs. RHE), the faradaic efficiency of formate is above 80 %, which is far better than In2O3 (64.6 %) and the physical mixture of In2O3 and La2O3 (63.7 %). The experimental research and DFT calculations indicate that the outstanding activity of LaInO3 is mainly owing to its intensive adsorption stability to free radical intermediates (CO2•─) and lower desorption free energy of formate products during reaction.