Unified effects of lanthanoid elements and magnetic fields on the electrocatalytic CO2 reduction reaction

This study systematically investigates how lanthanoid elements and electromagnetic fields unite to enhance the performance of nickel-based catalysts in the electrocatalytic carbon dioxide reduction reaction. First, we synthesized and analyzed 14 lanthanoid-doped Ni nanoparticle catalysts. The results show that doping with lanthanoids effectively modulates the nickel electronic structure, raising the CO faradaic efficiency from 72.8% in the undoped case to generally over 90% for all lanthanoid-doped catalysts. Further research reveals that applying electric and magnetic fields produces an equivalent effect on current density: the higher the external magnetic or electric field strength, the higher the current density. Finally, the performance enhancements from both the internal factor, electronic structure modulation, and external factors, magnetic or electric fields, were found to be unified under one core idea – the promotion of charge-transfer processes. Consequently, this study presents unique perspectives on the unity in the diversity of factors governing the catalytic performance.