Indium-Based Metal–Organic Framework for High-Performance Electroreduction of CO₂ to Formate

Abstract

It is urgent to find a catalyst with high selectivity and efficiency for the reduction of CO₂ by renewable electric energy, which is the important means to reduce the greenhouse effect. In this work, we report that the metal-organic framework (MOF) indium-based 1,4-benzenedicarboxylate (In-BDC) catalyzes CO₂ to formate with a Faradaic efficiency (FE_HCOO^-) of more than 80% in a wide voltage range between -0.419 and -0.769 V (vs. reversible hydrogen electrode, RHE). In-BDC performs at a maximum FE_HCOO^- of 88% at -0.669 V (vs. RHE) and a turnover frequency of up to 4798 h^-1 at -1.069 V (vs. RHE). The long-term durability of 21 h and reusability of the electrocatalyst are clearly demonstrated. It opens up a new opportunity to utilize MOF with novel metal motifs for the efficient electroreduction of CO₂.