Carbon doped selenium electrocatalyst toward CO2 reduction to chemical fuels

Herein, we demonstrate the catalytic performance of carbon-doped selenium (C-Se), prepared by a facile reproducible hydrothermal method, toward electro-reduction of CO₂ (ERC). Here, we adopted two binders, namely Fumion^® (anion exchange) and Nafion® (cation exchange) to investigate the catalytic performance and product selectivity in alkaline electrolyte, KHCO₃. The C-Se/Fumion catalysts exhibit superior activity and stability toward ERC compared with C-Se/Nafion. The main products obtained at a potential range (-0.9 to -1.2 V vs. RHE) of ERC are CH₄ and C₂H₆ for C-Se/Nafion and CH₄ for C-Se/Fumion. The maximum faradic efficiency of the C-Se/Nafion for CH₄ and C₂H₆ production are 16.7% and 8.9% and that of the C-Se/Fumion for CH₄ production is 25.5% at -1.1 V vs. RHE. The present study reveals the influence of ionic binders on the selectivity of the ERC products.