Double perovskite decorated with in situ exsolved Fe nanoparticles as active catalyst for CO2 electrolysis

The double perovskite (Pr 0.5 Ba 0.5 ) 1.8 Fe 1.8 Mn 0.2 O 5-δ decorated with in situ exsolved Fe nanoparticles (Fe@PBFM) was used as the cathode in a solid oxide electrolysis cell (SOEC) to convert CO 2 to CO and exhibited high efficiency and stability. This catalyst is synthesized from the simple perovskite (Pr 0.5 Ba 0.5 ) 0.9 Fe 0.9 Mn 0.1 O 3-δ (PBFM) by annealing it under an H 2 -N 2 atmosphere at 850 °C for 15 h. The cell fabricated with the Fe@PBFM cathode shows a higher current density of 1.6 A/cm 2 at 850 °C and 1.8 V than the cell with the unreduced PBFM. The increased current density can be attributed to the in situ exsolved Fe nanoparticles and generation of the Fe@PBFM double perovskite. Furthermore, the cell containing this active catalyst exhibits stable CO 2 electrolysis performance for 100 h at a stable voltage of 1.3 V, suggesting that Fe@PBFM is an attractive candidate as SOEC cathode for CO 2 electrolysis.