Cadmium Functionalized Zeolitic Imidazolate Framework (Cd-ZIF-8) Electrocatalysts for Efficient CO Conversion to Syngas.

The electrochemical conversion of Carbon dioxide (CO) into value-added fuels and chemicals represents a promising approach to mitigating greenhouse gas emissions and addressing energy demands. Among the various catalysts studied, metal-doped zeolitic imidazole frameworks (ZIFs) have emerged as effective materials for the selective electrochemical CO reduction reaction (eCORR). In this study, we employ a series of cadmium (Cd) doped ZIF-8 composites synthesized using a straightforward approach to enhance CO electroreduction performance. The results indicate that the electroreduction of CO on Cd-doped ZIF-8 catalysts facilitates the production of syngas (CO and H), without the generation of any liquid fuel. This leads to a total faradaic efficiency (FE) that approaches 100%. The ideal Cd-ZIF-8 composite, consisting of 10% Cd and 90% Zn, exhibits favorable selectivity with high faradaic efficiencies of 78% for CO and 22% for H. Additionally, the syngas ratio may be readily modified from 4:1 to 1:3 (H/CO) by varying the applied voltage during the CO conversion procedure. This tunability highlights the potential of Cd-ZIF-8 as an efficient catalyst for customizable syngas production from CO. These findings open new avenues for catalyst design, supporting the development of scalable CO reduction technologies aimed at environmental sustainability and renewable energy solutions.