Porous indium electrode with large surface area for effective electroreduction of N2O

• Porous indium foam electrode was fabricated via electrodeposition of indium on a copper foam template.
• The original porous structure of the copper foam template was preserved after electrodeposition of indium.
• The prepared electrode showed a high selectivity and a fast reaction rate towards nitrous oxide electroreduction.

Increasing the electrochemical surface area of electrocatalyst is important for achieving high Faradaic efficiency with rapid reaction rate in bulk electrolysis of gaseous reagents. Hence, we fabricated efficient and cost-effective porous indium foam for the electrochemical reduction of nitrous oxide by using electrodeposited copper foam as the template. Indium grew on the surface of copper foam, preserving the original porous foam structure. The electrochemical investigation on indium revealed a high selectivity and a fast reaction rate of indium foam electrode towards nitrous oxide electroreduction.