Hierarchical S-modified Cu porous nanoflakes for efficient CO electroreduction to formate.

Electrochemical reduction of CO into liquid fuels is a promising approach to achieving a carbon-neutral energy cycle but remains a great challenge due to the lack of efficient catalysts. Here, the hierarchical architectures assembled by ultrathin and porous S-modified Cu nanoflakes (Cu-S NFs) are designed and constructed as an efficient electrocatalyst for CO conversion to formate with high partial current density. Specifically, when integrated into a gas diffusion electrode in a flow cell, Cu-S NFs are capable of delivering the ultrahigh formate current density up to 404.1 mA cm with a selectivity of 89.8%. Electrochemical tests and theoretical calculations indicate that the superior performance of the designed catalysts may be attributed to the unique structure, which can provide abundant active sites, fast charge transfer, and highly active edge sites.