Integrated electrochemical system using tin-phthalocyanine/graphene nanocomposite for synergistic formate production and rapid seawater desalination

Man Liang¹, Wei Wang¹, Minzhang Li², Beichi Luo³, Qingjie Yang³, Lu Guo⁴, Kwun Nam Hui⁵, Guangguo Ying⁶, Fuming Chen⁷

Affiliations

¹ State Key Laboratory of Tropic Ocean Engineering Materials and Materials Evaluation, School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Hainan University, Haikou 570228, China; Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Quantum Engineering and Quantum Materials, School of Physics, South China Normal University, Guangzhou 510006, China.
² Guangdong Engineering Technology Research Center of Efficient Green Energy and Environment Protection Materials, School of Electronic Science and Engineering (School of Microelectronics), South China Normal University, Foshan 528225, China. Electronic address: liminzhang@scnu.edu.cn.
³ Guangdong Engineering Technology Research Center of Efficient Green Energy and Environment Protection Materials, School of Electronic Science and Engineering (School of Microelectronics), South China Normal University, Foshan 528225, China.
⁴ School of Engineering, Yunnan University, Kunming 650091, China.
⁵ Joint Key Laboratory of the Ministry of Education, Institute of Applied Physics and Materials Engineering, University of Macau, Avenida da Universidade, Taipa, Macau, PR China.
⁶ Environmental Research Institute/School of Environment, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Chemical Pollution and Environmental Safety & MOE Key Laboratory of Theoretical Chemistry of Environment, South China Normal University, Guangzhou 510006, China.
⁷ State Key Laboratory of Tropic Ocean Engineering Materials and Materials Evaluation, School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Hainan University, Haikou 570228, China; Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Quantum Engineering and Quantum Materials, School of Physics, South China Normal University, Guangzhou 510006, China; Guangdong Engineering Technology Research Center of Efficient Green Energy and Environment Protection Materials, School of Electronic Science and Engineering (School of Microelectronics), South China Normal University, Foshan 528225, China; School of Engineering, Yunnan University, Kunming 650091, China. Electronic address: chenfumsg@gmail.com.

PMID: 41072323
DOI: 10.1016/j.jcis.2025.139178

Integrated electrochemical system using tin-phthalocyanine/graphene nanocomposite for synergistic formate production and rapid seawater desalination

Man Liang et al. J Colloid Interface Sci. 2025.

. 2025 Oct 6;703(Pt 2):139178.

doi: 10.1016/j.jcis.2025.139178. Online ahead of print.

Authors

Man Liang¹, Wei Wang¹, Minzhang Li², Beichi Luo³, Qingjie Yang³, Lu Guo⁴, Kwun Nam Hui⁵, Guangguo Ying⁶, Fuming Chen⁷

Affiliations

¹ State Key Laboratory of Tropic Ocean Engineering Materials and Materials Evaluation, School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Hainan University, Haikou 570228, China; Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Quantum Engineering and Quantum Materials, School of Physics, South China Normal University, Guangzhou 510006, China.
² Guangdong Engineering Technology Research Center of Efficient Green Energy and Environment Protection Materials, School of Electronic Science and Engineering (School of Microelectronics), South China Normal University, Foshan 528225, China. Electronic address: liminzhang@scnu.edu.cn.
³ Guangdong Engineering Technology Research Center of Efficient Green Energy and Environment Protection Materials, School of Electronic Science and Engineering (School of Microelectronics), South China Normal University, Foshan 528225, China.
⁴ School of Engineering, Yunnan University, Kunming 650091, China.
⁵ Joint Key Laboratory of the Ministry of Education, Institute of Applied Physics and Materials Engineering, University of Macau, Avenida da Universidade, Taipa, Macau, PR China.
⁶ Environmental Research Institute/School of Environment, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Chemical Pollution and Environmental Safety & MOE Key Laboratory of Theoretical Chemistry of Environment, South China Normal University, Guangzhou 510006, China.
⁷ State Key Laboratory of Tropic Ocean Engineering Materials and Materials Evaluation, School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Hainan University, Haikou 570228, China; Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Quantum Engineering and Quantum Materials, School of Physics, South China Normal University, Guangzhou 510006, China; Guangdong Engineering Technology Research Center of Efficient Green Energy and Environment Protection Materials, School of Electronic Science and Engineering (School of Microelectronics), South China Normal University, Foshan 528225, China; School of Engineering, Yunnan University, Kunming 650091, China. Electronic address: chenfumsg@gmail.com.

PMID: 41072323
DOI: 10.1016/j.jcis.2025.139178

Abstract

Escalating carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions and widespread freshwater scarcity represent critical challenges to global environmental sustainability. This study addresses both issues simultaneously by coupling electrochemical CO₂ reduction (CO₂RR) with seawater desalination using a novel N-SnPc/NRGO nanocomposite. This material was fabricated by anchoring tin-phthalocyanine nanostructures (N-SnPc) onto nitrogen-doped reduced graphene oxide (NRGO). The unique architecture enhances electrical conductivity and increases the exposure of active sites, optimizing electron transfer and reactant mass transport, thereby boosting CO₂RR performance towards formate production. The optimized N-SnPc/NRGO composite (1:2 mass ratio) achieved a high formate Faradaic efficiency (FE_formate) of 86.0 % at -0.84 V vs. reversible hydrogen electrode (RHE), alongside excellent long-term operational stability. Density functional theory (DFT) calculations revealed that NRGO modification enhances the conductivity of SnPc and modulates the p-band center of the SnN₄ sites, promoting CO₂ adsorption and rationalizing the elevated CO₂RR activity. Furthermore, when integrated into an electrochemical desalination device, the N-SnPc/NRGO (1:2) cathode facilitated a rapid salt removal rate (SRR) of 778 μg cm^-2 min^-1 while maintaining an 83.3 % FE_formate. Processing natural seawater, the device achieved freshwater standard with a total salt removal efficiency of 99.7 %. This work introduces a promising strategy for designing cost-effective, high-performance Sn-based CO₂RR electrocatalysts and presents an innovative approach to tackling water resource challenges through integrated electrochemical systems.

Keywords: CO(2) electroreduction; Formate production; Nanocomposite; Seawater desalination; Tin phthalocyanine.

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Conflict of interest statement

Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.

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Integrated electrochemical system using tin-phthalocyanine/graphene nanocomposite for synergistic formate production and rapid seawater desalination

Affiliations

Integrated electrochemical system using tin-phthalocyanine/graphene nanocomposite for synergistic formate production and rapid seawater desalination

Authors

Affiliations

Abstract

Conflict of interest statement