Transforming carbon dioxide into high-value chemicals via sustainable solid oxide electrochemical reactor

Achieving a carbon-neutral society requires strategies that seamlessly integrate environmental sustainability with economic viability. Solid oxide electrochemical reactors (SOERs) hold the potential to concurrently recycle CO2 while synthesizing high-value propylene from low-cost gases using surplus renewable electricity. However, existing SOER designs face significant challenges in slow reaction kinetics and instability. We present evidence that Fe-Ni-Ru alloy@FeOx core-shell nanoparticles on the Sr2Fe1.5Mo0.4Ni0.05Ru0.05O6-δ electrode of SOER substantially enhance electrochemical CO2 reduction at the cathode, and propane conversion to propylene and ethylene at the anode through the promotion of active oxygen species at the surfaces. The formation of core-shell nanoparticles lowers the activation energy of polarization resistance from 2.1 eV to 0.82 eV, facilitating high current densities and 150 h of stable SOER operation with an 80% selectivity for propylene and ethylene production. Density functional theory calculations suggest that this enhancement is due to the reduced activation energy for dissociative CO2 reduction on the surface of Fe-Ni-Ru alloy@FeOx core-shell nanoparticles. These results show the potential of the self-organized core-shell nanoparticles in SOERs for economical CO2 recycling, offering a promising approach in the pursuit of a carbon-neutral future.