1 Introduction
The extensive use of fossil fuels has dramatically increased atmospheric CO
2 emissions, exacerbating the greenhouse effect and posing serious environmental threats globally. Using CO
2 as a feedstock to synthesize high-value chemicals is gaining increasing attention as a sustainable solution. Among various CO
2 conversion technologies, electrochemical CO
2 reduction reaction (CO
2RR) conducted in aqueous media, particularly when powered by renewable energy for carbon-neutral energy conversion, is a promising strategy. CO
2RR can yield a broad spectrum of products, ranging from C1 to C
2+ hydrocarbons and oxygenates [
1–
6]. In particular, liquid C
2+ alcohols, due to their high energy density, market demand, and ease of storage and transportation, have garnered significant attention in practical production and daily life [
7,
8]. For example, ethanol (C
2H
5OH) serves as both a fuel and a commodity chemical, with a global market value of approximately $75 billion and a volumetric energy density of 24 MJ/L.
To date, copper-based catalysts have been the most extensively studied materials for catalyzing CO
2RR to produce C
2+ products. However, the formation of C–C bonds via *CO intermediates on copper surfaces remains energetically demanding and complex, resulting in limited selectivity for ethanol as a single product [
9–
11]. Moreover, the lack of a comprehensive understanding of the CO
2 to C
2+ alcohol pathway has hindered the development of efficient catalysts for selective CO
2 to C
2+ alcohol conversion. As a result, extensive efforts have been directed toward non-copper catalytic systems. Metals such as Co, Mo, Fe, Sn, Ir, Ni, and Pd-based metals, their alloys, oxides, phosphides, sulfides, and molecular complexes have been explored, though most have achieved limited success in selectively producing C
2+ alcohols [
12–
19]. Among them, palladium-based catalysts are particularly notable due to their unique C–C coupling behavior and distinct CO
2RR performance, which differ from those of copper-based catalysts. For example, Zhang et al. [
20] have demonstrated that In
2O
3 catalysts doped with a small amount of Pd exhibit high activity for CO
2RR to ethanol at low overpotentials, along with a high Faradaic efficiency (FE) of 50.7%.
In this work, zirconium phosphate-supported ultrasmall palladium nanoparticles (pre-ZrP-Pd) have been developed as an efficient catalyst for the selective electrochemical reduction of CO2 to C2H5OH. Zirconium phosphate with a surface enriched in oxygen vacancies is employed to anchor Pd species (pre-ZrP-1.5Pd, pre-ZrP-2.5Pd). The developed pre-ZrP-1.5Pd catalyst achieved a FE of 87.6% for C2H5OH at –0.8 V versus RHE, ranking among highest reported for both copper and non-copper systems. Density functional theory (DFT) calculations demonstrate the strong metal-support interaction between the Pd nanoparticles and the ZrP substrate induces an upward shift in the Pd d-band center toward the Fermi level. This electronic shift enhances CO* adsorption, suppresses CO* desorption, and promotes CO–CO coupling, thereby facilitating ethanol formation. The findings suggest that tailoring metal-support interactions provides a promising strategy for advancing non-copper CO2RR catalysts with improved selectivity toward C2+ alcohols.
2 Experiment
2.1 Chemicals
H3PO4 (99.9%), zirconium(IV) oxychloride octahydrate (ZrClO2·8H2O, 99.9%), ethanol (99.5%), and N,N-dimethylformamide (DMF, 99.9%) were purchased from Innochem Co., Ltd, China. Tetrabutylammonium hydroxide (25 wt% in H2O) was obtained from Aladdin, Co., Ltd., China. Sodium tetrachloropalladate (II) hydrate (99.95%) was supplied by Alfa Co., Ltd., China. Ultrapure water (resistivity > 18 MΩ) was obtained using a Milli-Q purification system and used in all experiments. All gases were sourced from Linde Co., Ltd., China.
2.2 Synthesis
Zirconium phosphate was synthesized via a hydrothermal method using phosphoric acid, deionized water, and zirconium oxychloride octahydrate as precursors. First, 20 mL of deionized water was added to a hydrothermal synthesis reactor (Anhui Chem-n Instrument Co. Ltd., China), followed by 3 g of zirconium oxychloride octahydrate. The mixture was stirred until completely dissolved. Subsequently, 18 mL of phosphoric acid (18 mL) was slowly added under continuous stirring until the solution became clear. The mixture was then sealed and heated in a blast drying oven at 180 °C for 24 h. The resulting precipitate was collected by centrifugation, washed with deionized water until the supernatant reached neutral pH, and dried in a vacuum oven at 60 °C for 12 h to yield zirconium phosphate.
Next, 500 mg of the finely ground zirconium phosphate was placed in a mixture of 40 mL deionized water and 10 mL of tetrabutylammonium hydroxide in a 50 mL centrifuge tube. The suspension was sonicated in an ice-water bath for 1 h, followed by washing with ethanol via centrifugation, and drying under vacuum for 12 h to obtain tetrabutylammonium hydroxide-intercalated zirconium phosphate. This material was then calcined at 400 °C in air for 1 h to produce zirconium phosphate with a surface enriched in oxygen vacancies (pre-ZrP) [
21].
Finally, 30 mg of pre-ZrP was mixed with 3 and 5 mL of 0.5 mg/mL chloropalladic acid solution in DM and stirred for 12 h. The mixture was vacuum filtered and dried for 12 h, then calcined at 400 °C under a nitrogen atmosphere in a tube furnace for 1 h, resulting in the formation of the catalysts pre-ZrP-1.5Pd and pre-ZrP-2.5Pd, respectively.
2.3 Characterization
The crystal structures were determined by X-ray powder diffraction (XRD using a Bruker D8 Advance diffractometer with Cu Kα (λ =1.5406 Å). Data were collected over a 2θ range of 5° to 45° at a scanning speed of 2 (° )/min with operating conditions of 40 kV and 40 mA. Crystalline phases were analyzed and confirmed using the Jade software package. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) was performed on a K-Alpha photoelectron spectrometer equipped with a monochromatic Al Kα X-ray source (1486.6 eV). All spectra were calibrated using the C 1s peak at 284.8 eV.
Morphology and structural characterization of the catalysts was conducted using field-emission transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS) on an FEI Talos F200i instrument. Scanning electron microscope (SEM) images were obtained using a Nova NanoSEM 230 field-emission SEM. X-ray absorption fine structure (XAFS) measurements were performed at the BL11B beamline of Shanghai Synchrotron Radiation Facility (SSRF) operating at 3.5 GeV and 250 mA maximum current, with Si (311) crystals used for monochromatization.
Electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spectra were recorded using a Bruker Elexsys E580 X-band EPR spectrometer. Proton nuclear magnetic resonance (1H-NMR) measurements were conducted using a Bruker AVANCE NEO 600 MHz spectrometer. Thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) was conducted using a TGA 8000 thermogravimetric analyzer.
2.4 CO2RR measurements
CO2RR performance was evaluated using a CHI 760e electrochemical workstation in a typical three-electrode setup in an H-type cell. The cathode and anode chambers were separated by a Nafion 117 proton exchange membrane. Hydrophobic carbon paper (YLS-30T) loaded with the catalytic material served as the working electrode, with a geometric area of 0.5 cm × 1 cm. A carbon rod and an Ag/AgCl electrode (saturated KCl solution) were used as the counter and reference electrodes, respectively. Linear sweep voltammetry (LSV) and chronoamperometry were performed at different potentials in a 0.1 mol/L CO2-saturated KHCO3 electrolyte (pH 6.8). All potentials were converted to the reversible hydrogen electrode (RHE) scale according to
The catalyst ink was prepared by dispersing 2.5 mg of the prepared catalyst and 1.5 mg of commercial carbon black (XC 72) in 0.5 mL of an isopropanol-water mixture (3:1, v/v), followed by the addition of 10 µL of a 5 wt% Nafion solution (D520). Then, 80 µL of the catalyst ink was drop-cast onto carbon paper to fabricate the working electrode. Both the cathode and anode chambers were filled with 20 mL of 0.1 mol/L KHCO3 electrolyte. Prior to electrochemical measurements, CO2 gas was bubbled continuously through the electrolyte for 30 min to ensure saturation.
Gas-phase products, mainly CO and H2, were analyzed online by a gas chromatograph (GC, Shimadzu 2014) directly connected to the electrochemical cell outlet. Except for the first 600 seconds of electrolysis at each potential, gas samples were collected every 300 s for analysis. Liquid-products were quantified using proton nuclear magnetic resonance (1H-NMR) spectroscopy.
3 Result and discussion
3.1 Characterization of catalysts
The schematic illustration of the synthesis is shown in Fig.1. Various characterizations were conducted on ZrP, pre-ZrP, and pre-ZrP-xPd (x = 1.5, 2.5) catalysts to investigate their defects, crystallinity, thermal stability, and composition. The EPR spectrum (Fig. S1, Electronic Supplementary Material) shows a distinct signal at g = 2.003 for the pre-ZrP sample, indicating the presence of oxygen vacancies on the ZrP surface, which provides anchoring sites for the adsorption of chloropalladic acid anions. TG analysis curves (Fig. S2) reveal similar weight loss trends for pre-ZrP materials in both nitrogen and oxygen atmospheres. A weight loss peak around 170 °C corresponds to the removal of crystallization water, around 300 °C to the elimination of tetrabutylammonium hydroxide, and around 600 °C to the loss of phosphate groups. Notably, the total weight loss at 800 °C is approximately 13%, indicating that pre-ZrP does not undergo oxidation to form ZrO2 in the oxygen atmosphere and possesses excellent thermal stability.
XRD patterns (Fig. S3) show that pre-ZrP retains diffraction peaks similar to those of ZrP but with reduced intensities, particularly for the (002) plane. Normalization analysis (Fig. S4), reveals that the intensity of the (110) plane peak in pre-ZrP is higher than in ZrP, accompanied by a broader half-peak width, suggesting that the intercalated and calcined ZrP has a thin-layer or few-layer structure. Additionally, the XRD patterns of pre-ZrP-xPd correspond to those of zirconium phosphate (PDF#28-1498), with no observable diffraction peak corresponding to the Pd (100) plane, indicating that the pre-ZrP-xPd remains intact and that Pd likely exists as ultrasmall Pd nanoclusters.
EDS elemental mapping images show a uniform distribution of Zr, O, and P elements (Fig.2(a)). TEM, SEM, and high-angle annular dark-field scanning TEM (HAADF-STEM) images reveal that pre-ZrP-xPd exhibits a layered hexagonal prism morphology (Fig.2(c) and Fig.2(d)) with edge lengths of approximately 0.1 µm. Notably, the surface of the prepared pre-ZrP-xPd displays numerous pores, and no distinct Pd particles are observed, suggesting that the Pd is present as ultrasmall nanoparticles dispersed within the structure.
High-resolution Pd 3d XPS spectra pre-ZrP-xPd (x = 1.5, 2.5) samples display characteristic peaks (Fig.3(a) and Fig.3(b)). Two distinct peaks at 333.55 and 334.42 eV correspond to Pd2+ and Pd0 species, respectively, accompanied by satellite peaks. A strong metal-support interaction is evident between the Pd particles and the ZrP support, with partial electrons from Pd to the ZrP substrate. The high-resolution O 1s XPS spectra show that a surface is rich in oxygen vacancies on ZrP, which act as anchoring sites to enhance the adsorption of Pd species.
Extended X-ray absorption fine structure (EXAFS) analysis at the Pd K-edge (Fig.3(c)) was performed via Fourier transform to study the atomic coordination environment of pre-ZrP-xPd. The first bridge-layer peak at approximately 2.2 Å is consistent with Pd particles, confirming the presence of Pd nanoparticles in pre-ZrP-xPd. Additionally, the coordination number of Pd in pre-ZrP-xPd is significantly lower than that of bulk Pd foil, suggesting the formation of ultrasmall Pd particles (Table S1).
3.2 CO2RR performance
The CO2RR performance was evaluated in 0.1 mol/L KHCO3 electrolyte using an H-cell configuration. The electrocatalytic behavior of pre-ZrP-xPd (x = 1.5, 2.5) varies with applied potential. The hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) FE for pre-ZrP-1.5Pd increases from 8% at –0.8 V versus RHE to 41.8% at –1 V versus RHE, while the CO2RR FE correspondingly decreases (Fig.4(a)). In contrast, pre-ZrP-2.5Pd shows an increase in HER FE from 0.8% at –0.8 V to 24% at –1 V versus RHE (Fig.4(b)). These results suggest a competition between HER and CO2RR, with pre-ZrP-1.5Pd effectively catalyzing CO2 reduction to ethanol predominantly at potentials more positive than –0.9 V versus RHE. Notably, at –0.8 V versus RHE for both catalysts, the ethanol current density (Fig.4(c) and Fig.4(d)) followed by a decline at more negative potentials.
Fig.4(e) and Fig.4(f) show the current density curves for pre-ZrP-1.5Pd and pre-ZrP-2.5Pd across different potentials. As the bias voltage increases from –0.5 to –1 V versus RHE, the ethanol current density for pre-ZrP-1.5Pd increases from 0.43 to 0.82 mA/cm2 before dropping to 0.11 mA/cm2. For pre-ZrP-2.5Pd, the current density increases from 0.42 to 0.75 mA/cm2 and then drops moderately to 0.51 mA/cm2. A comparison of pre-ZrP-xPd catalysts with different Pd loadings (x = 1.5, 2.5) reveals that pre-ZrP-2.5Pd, with a higher Pd content, exhibits a broader working potential range for high ethanol selectivity, demonstrating that Pd is the active site for ethanol production.
Pre-ZrP-
xPd catalysts show strong suppression of HER and effectively steer the CO
2 reduction pathway toward C
2H
5OH formation, achieving selectivity similar to or even surpassing that of some of the optimized Cu-based catalysts [
22–
28] (Fig. S13). The comparison of ethanol FE between copper-based and non-copper-based catalysts, as reported in the literature, can be seen from Fig. S13. However, it is worth noting that the current densities for pre-ZrP-
xPd remains similar to those of reported Pd-based catalysts, but much lower than those of Cu-based catalysts.
3.3 Reaction mechanism
The reaction mechanism for ethanol production over ultrasmall Pd nanoparticles supported on ZrP was further investigated using DFT. Reaction pathways involving CO2—*COOH—*CO and H+—½ H2 were calculated to simulate the competition between CO2RR and the HER (Fig.5(a) and Fig.5(b)). The calculation shows that the Gibbs free energy of hydrogen adsorption (∆GH) on Pd (111) is 0.03 eV, indicating that Pd facilitates both H+ adsorption and H2 desorption, resulting in excellent HER activity, which can significantly suppress CO2RR. In contrast, for pre-ZrP-xPd, ∆GH decreases to –0.77 eV, suggesting that hydrogen desorption is greatly suppressed, inhibiting HER and promoting CO2RR.
Additionally, for Pd (111), the energy barrier for CO formation is 1.9 eV, while for pre-ZrP-
xPd, it increases to 2.01 eV, indicating that CO desorption, which leads to CO formation, is greatly suppressed on pre-ZrP-
xPd. This strong suppression of CO desorption allows for the abundant adsorption of *CO, which can further couple to form ethanol. Partial density of states (PDOS) analysis shows that, compared to Pd (111) (Fig.5(c) and Fig.5(d)), the d-band center of pre-ZrP-
xPd shifts upward from –1.98 to –1.38 eV, which significantly enhances CO adsorption [
29]. Charge difference density analysis further confirms electron transfer from ZrP support to Pd, confirming that the metal-support interactions between Pd and ZrP strengthen *CO adsorption and promote further CO–CO coupling.
4 Conclusions
This study presents a novel non-copper-based catalyst composed of ultrasmall palladium nanoparticles supported on layered zirconium phosphate for CO2RR to ethanol. The zirconium phosphate support, rich in oxygen vacancies, was synthesized via a hydrothermal method, followed by loading of ultrasmall Pd nanoparticles. The results demonstrate that the catalyst achieves a FE of 92.1% for ethanol at −0.8 V versus RHE, with a peak current density of 0.82 mA/cm2, outperforming many copper-based catalysts and offering a promising strategy for high-value CO2 conversion. XPS and EXAFS analyses reveal strong metal-support interactions between Pd and the support, leading to an upward shift in the Pd d-band center, which enhances *CO intermediate adsorption while suppressing CO desorption and HER. Although the current density (< 1 mA/cm2) remains lower than that of copper-based catalysts, this work opens new avenues for CO2 utilization and carbon-neutral fuel synthesis.