Mixed Perovskite Phases of BaTiO/BaTiO for Efficient Electrochemical Reduction of CO to CO.

One of the most promising approaches in solving the energy crisis and reducing atmospheric CO emissions is artificial photosynthetic CO reduction. The electrochemical method for CO reduction is more appealing since it can be operated under ambient conditions, and the product selectivity strongly depends on the applied potential. Perovskites with ferroelectric properties strongly adsorb linear CO molecules. In this study, barium titanate (BaTiO) perovskite is used as an electrocatalyst to promote CO activation and conversion to CO. Perovskite catalysts were prepared by ball-milling followed by annealing at 900 °C for 4 to 6 h in an open atmosphere. The TEM and SEM study shows that the particle size varies in the range of 80-200 nm. Mixed phases of BaTiO and BaTiO supported on nitrogen-doped carbon nanotubes are found to be highly active for electrocatalytic CO reduction to CO with maximum Faradaic efficiency of 89.4 % at -1.0 V versus Ag/AgCl in CO saturated 0.5 KOH solution. This study concludes that mixed phases of BaTiO and BaTiO are more active and highly selective for CO conversion to CO compared to single-phase BaTiO.