Sulfidation-Induced Surface Local Electronic and Atomic Structures in a Silver Catalyst Enables Silicon Photocathode for Selective and Efficient Photoelectrochemical CO2 Reduction

Converting CO2 to value-added chemicals through a photoelectrochemical (PEC) system is a creative approach toward renewable energy utilization and storage. However, the rational design of appropriate catalysts while being effectively integrated with semiconductor photoelectrodes remains a considerable challenge for achieving single-carbon products with high efficiency. Herein, we demonstrate a novel sulfidation-induced strategy for in situ grown sulfide-derived Ag nanowires on a Si photocathode (denoted as SD-Ag/Si) based on the standard crystalline Si solar cells. Such an exquisite design of the SD-Ag/Si photocathode not only provides a large electrochemically active surface area but also endows abundant active sites of Ag2S/Ag interfaces and high-index Ag facets for PEC CO production. The optimized SD-Ag/Si photocathode displays an ideal CO Faradic efficiency of 95.2% and an onset potential of +0.26 V versus the reversible hydrogen electrode, ascribed to the sulfidation-induced synergistic effect of the surface atomic arrangement and electronic structure in Ag catalysts that promote charge transfer, facilitate CO2 adsorption and activation, and suppress hydrogen evolution reaction. This sulfidation-induced strategy represents a scalable approach for designing high-performance catalysts for electrochemical and PEC devices with efficient CO2 utilization.