Graphene Oxide–driven In Situ Bismuth Reduction Enables Highly Efficient Electroreduction Of CO2 To Formic Acid

Author

• Hao Feng
• Bohong Zhang, Missouri University of Science and TechnologyFollow
• Jie Huang, Missouri University of Science and TechnologyFollow
• Xinhua Liang, Missouri University of Science and TechnologyFollow

Abstract

To enable large scale efficient electrochemical CO₂ reduction reaction (CO₂RR) to formic acid (HCOOH), it is important to develop catalysts that can be operated in a wide potential window with good stability. Herein, we successfully synthesized Bi₂O₃ catalyst supported on graphene oxide (GO) and graphene (G) and found that Bi₂O₃/GO catalyst had a better overall performance than Bi₂O₃/G. The Bi₂O₃/GO catalyst demonstrated an outstanding CO₂RR performance with a greater than 90% faradaic efficiency (FE) across a wide applied potential window from −0.9 to −1.7 V vs. RHE, a HCOOK production rate of 1700 μmol h⁻¹ cm⁻² at −1.7 V vs. RHE, and excellent long-term operational stability maintaining >90% FE over 84 h in a conventional H-type cell. Comprehensive characterization revealed that metallic Bi dominated the reaction performance rather than initial electron transfer rate over the Bi₂O₃/GO catalyst. Carboxyl functional groups (-COOH) on GO promoted the in situ reduction of Bi₂O₃ and Bi₂O₂CO₃ to metallic Bi. Although metallic Bi exhibited a relatively weak affinity for CO₂ and the *OCHO intermediate compared to Bi₂O₂CO₃, the conversion of CO₂RR to HCOOH over metallic Bi proceeds with a more favorable (downhill) energy profile, thereby, resulting in enhanced CO₂RR performance.

Recommended Citation

H. Feng et al., "Graphene Oxide–driven In Situ Bismuth Reduction Enables Highly Efficient Electroreduction Of CO2 To Formic Acid," Chemical Engineering Journal, vol. 545, article no. 179259, Elsevier, Oct 2026.

The definitive version is available at https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cej.2026.179259

Department(s)

Electrical and Computer Engineering

Second Department

Chemical and Biochemical Engineering

Publication Status

Open Access

Comments

Washington University in St. Louis, Grant CHM250021

Keywords and Phrases

Active phase-support interaction; CO2 reduction reaction (CO2RR); Graphene oxide; Wide potential window

International Standard Serial Number (ISSN)

1385-8947

Document Type

Article - Journal

Document Version

Citation

File Type

text

Language(s)

English

Rights

© 2026 Elsevier, All rights reserved.

Creative Commons Licensing

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 License.

Publication Date

01 Oct 2026