Electrochemical CO₂ reduction to CO is a potential sustainable strategy for alleviating CO₂ emission and producing valuable fuels. In the quest to resolve its current problems of low-energy efficiency and insufficient durability, a dual-scale design strategy is proposed by implanting a non-noble active Sn–ZnO heterointerface inside the nanopores of high-surface-area carbon nanospheres (Sn–ZnO@HC). The metal d-bandwidth tuning of Sn and ZnO alters the extent of substrate–molecule orbital mixing, facilitating the breaking of the *COOH intermediate and the yield of CO. Furthermore, the confinement effect of tailored nanopores results in a beneficial pH distribution in the local environment around the Sn–ZnO nanoparticles and protects them against leaching and aggregating. Through integrating electronic and nanopore-scale control, Sn–ZnO@HC achieves a quite low potential of −0.53 V vs reversible hydrogen electrode (RHE) with 91% Faradaic efficiency for CO and an ultralong stability of 240 h. This work provides proof of concept for the multiscale design of electrocatalysts.

中文翻译：

---

Sn-ZnO催化剂的双尺度集成设计实现高效稳定的CO2电还原

电化学 CO ₂还原为 CO 是一种潜在的可持续减排_策略排放和生产有价值的燃料。为了解决其当前能量效率低和耐久性不足的问题，提出了一种双尺度设计策略，即在高表面积碳纳米球（Sn- ZnO@HC)。Sn 和 ZnO 的金属 d 带宽调整改变了底物 - 分子轨道混合的程度，促进了 *COOH 中间体的破坏和 CO 的产率。此外，定制纳米孔的限制效应导致了有益的 pH 分布在Sn-ZnO 纳米粒子周围的局部环境，并保护它们免受浸出和聚集。通过集成电子和纳米孔级控制，Sn-ZnO@HC 实现了相当低的 -0 电位。53 V vs 可逆氢电极 (RHE)，CO 的法拉第效率为 91%，超长稳定性为 240 小时。这项工作为电催化剂的多尺度设计提供了概念证明。