In operando-formed interface between silver and perovskite oxide for efficient electroreduction of carbon dioxide to carbon monoxide

Electrochemical carbon dioxide (CO2) reduction (ECR) is a promising technology to produce valuable fuels and feedstocks from CO2. Despite large efforts to develop ECR catalysts, the investigation of the catalytic performance and electrochemical behavior of complex metal oxides, especially perovskite oxides, is rarely reported. Here, the inorganic perovskite oxide Ag-doped (La0.8Sr0.2)(0.95)Ag0.05MnO3-delta (LSA0.05M) is reported as an efficient electrocatalyst for ECR to CO for the first time, which exhibits a Faradaic efficiency (FE) of 84.3%, a remarkable mass activity of 75 A g(-1) (normalized to the mass of Ag), and stability of 130 h at a moderate overpotential of 0.79 V. The LSA0.05M catalyst experiences structure reconstruction during ECR, creating the in operando-formed interface between the perovskite and the evolved Ag phase. The evolved Ag is uniformly distributed with a small particle size on the perovskite surface. Theoretical calculations indicate the reconstruction of LSA0.05M during ECR and reveal that the perovskite-Ag interface provides adsorption sites for CO2 and accelerates the desorption of the *CO intermediate to enhance ECR. This study presents a novel high-performance perovskite catalyst for ECR and may inspire the future design of electrocatalysts via the in operando formation of metal-metal oxide interfaces.