Pb3(CO3)2(OH)2 Is an Active Phase in Electrocatalytic CO2 Reduction to Formate

Determining the catalytically active phase in electrochemical CO₂ reduction has been challenging. In their work recently published in Nature Communications on July 8, 2020, Zhang et al. studied the phase transition of a tannin-lead(II) complex in electrochemical CO₂ reduction and revealed that the in-situ formed hydrocerussitePb₃(CO₃)₂(OH)₂] is the stable active phase for formate production. This new finding may help settle the debate on the real active site of Pb-based materials for CO₂ electroreduction.