Ligand-Engineered Metal–Organic Frameworks for Electrochemical Reduction of Carbon Dioxide to Carbon Monoxide

The economic feasibility of electrocatalytic carbon dioxide reduction reaction (CO2RR) relies on developing highly selective and efficient catalysts operating at a high current density. Herein, we explore a ligand-engineering strategy involving the use of metal–organic frameworks (MOFs) and combining the desirable features of homogeneous and heterogeneous catalysts for boosting the activity of CO2RR. Zn-based MOFs involving two different azolate functional ligands, i.e., 1,2,4-triazole (Calgary Framework 20, CALF20) and 2-methylimidazole (zeolitic imidazolate framework-8, ZIF-8), were investigated for CO2RR in an alkaline flow cell electrolyzer. The highest CO partial current density of −53.2 mA/cm2 was observed for a Zn-based MOF (CALF20). CALF20 showed the highest reported Faradaic efficiency of Zn-based MOFs for CO production (∼94% at −0.97 V versus reversible hydrogen electrode, RHE), with a turnover frequency (TOF) of 1360.8 h–1 and a partial current density of −32.8 mA/cm2. Experimental and density functional theory (DFT) results indicate that the sp2 carbon atoms in azole ligands coordinated with the metal center in MOFs are the active sites for CO2RR due to the fully occupied 3d orbital of Zn­(II) centers. Ab initio investigation shows that both azolate frameworks in CALF20 and ZIF-8 have the most favorable adsorption sites at the N–sp2 C. Adopting the triazole ligand in CALF20 enhances the charge transfer (as compared with the diazole group in ZIF-8), which induces more electrons in the adjacent active sites at the azole ligand and facilitates *COOH formation, boosting current density and Faradaic efficiency toward CO production. This study suggests that ligand engineering in MOFs could be a viable approach to design a highly efficient CO2RR catalyst.