Research on the Construction of a Series of Transition Metal-Substituted Keggin-Type TMSPOMs@PCN-224 Composites through the Encapsulation Method and Their Electron Transfer Mechanism in CO2RR

In order to take advantage of the distinct reversible multielectron transfer properties of polyoxometalates (POMs) and increase the electron density at the active sites during the electrochemical reduction of CO2 (CO2RR), a range of transition metal-doped polyoxometalates (TMSPOMs) was entrapped within the porphyrin-based framework of PCN-224 via an encapsulation method, known as TMSPOMs@PCN-224 (TMSPOMs = [XW11O39MII(H2O)]n–, [XW11O40VIV]n–, M = CoII, MnII; X = Si, n = 6; X = P, n = 5). The central elements (Si, P) and the incorporated transition metals (VIV, CoII, and MnII) both play a role in adjusting the electronic structure and electron transfer during the CO2RR process. Remarkably, the composite material with cobalt substitution displayed significantly improved performance. Through fine-tuning the POM loading, the electrocatalytic activity was optimized, leading to an impressive Faradaic efficiency for CO production (FECO) of 89.9% for SiW11Co@PCN-224, a significant improvement compared to the 12.1% FECO of PCN-224. Furthermore, the electrochemical stability of this catalyst was demonstrated over 20 h. Comparative analyses involving six composite materials indicated a relationship between the negative charge of the polyanions and their ability to facilitate effective electron transfer, ultimately enhancing the catalyst's performance. Meanwhile, these findings were supported by density functional theory (DFT) calculations.