Electrochemically created roughened lead plate for electrochemical reduction of aqueous CO2

• Pb plate was roughened using a facile oxidation–reduction cycle for the first time.
• The novel surface-roughened Pb was used for electrochemical reduction of CO2.
• Excellent electrocatalytic performance in the conversion of CO2 to HCOOH.

Surface-roughened Pb electrodes were prepared through a facile oxidation–reduction cycle. Compared with their smooth surface counterparts, the electrodes exhibited significantly higher activity, selectivity, and energy utilization in the electrocatalytic reduction of CO2 to HCOOH using water under ambient temperature and pressure. Furthermore, the modified electrodes maintained high activities after operating repeatedly for five batches. The enhanced performance of these electrodes is attributed to the enlarged active surface area and increased number of reactive species associated with the three-dimensional structure of the surface. Both the hydrogenation mechanism and the hydrogencarbonate mechanism were affected during the electrochemical CO2 reduction.

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