Operando nuclear magnetic resonance decodes alkali-tuned proton-electron relay boosting CO2-to-formate conversion

doi:10.1038/s41467-026-68604-z

Paper ID: 642
Journal: Nature Communications
Impact Factor: 15.7
CAS Zone: Zone 1
Year: 2026
DOI: 10.1038/s41467-026-68604-z
Equipment Model: XH-300 series
Affiliations: Physics Department & Shanghai Key Laboratory of Magnetic Resonance, School of Physics and Electronic Science, East China Normal University; State Key Laboratory of Green Chemical Engineering and Industrial Catalysis, East China University of Science and Technology
Research Directions: Research application

Fact Snapshot

Paper: Operando nuclear magnetic resonance decodes alkali-tuned proton-electron relay boosting CO2-to-formate conversion
Equipment: XH-300 series
Source: Nature Communications, 2026
Research direction: Research application
Core conditions: Temperature 60 °C, Microwave power 500 W, Ultrasonic power 500 W, and Time 10 min / 20 min / 12 h
Key results: Formic acid selectivity 95.52% and Formic acid selectivity 13.69%

Research Abstract

Operando nuclear magnetic resonance decodes alkali-tuned proton-electron relay boosting CO2-to-formate conversion was published in Nature Communications (2026) and is indexed as a Xianghu Q1 application case for XH-300 series. The source record connects it with Research application. Core operating conditions include Temperature 60 °C, Microwave power 500 W, Ultrasonic power 500 W, and Time 10 min / 20 min / 12 h. Key reported results include Formic acid selectivity 95.52% and Formic acid selectivity 13.69%.

Research Background and Problem

The application context is Research application. The equipment metadata identifies XH-300 series, while the publication metadata records Nature Communications (2026). The affiliation record includes Physics Department & Shanghai Key Laboratory of Magnetic Resonance, School of Physics and Electronic Science, East China Normal University and State Key Laboratory of Green Chemical Engineering and Industrial Catalysis, East China University of Science and Technology. The recorded DOI is 10.1038/s41467-026-68604-z.

Equipment Use and Experimental Conditions

Item	Parameter
Temperature	60 °C
Microwave power	500 W
Ultrasonic power	500 W
Time	10 min / 20 min / 12 h

Key Result

Formic acid selectivity 95.52%

Formic acid selectivity 13.69%

Metric	Result
Formic acid selectivity	95.52%
Formic acid selectivity	13.69%

Evidence Details

Abstract evidence

Through Li modification the selectivity of formate has been increased from 13.69% to 95.52% at 300 mA cm-2. Besides, the FEHCOO- reached ~90% even at 1.5 A cm-2.

Source evidence

Spectral deconvolution showed that the 1H13COO-/2H13COO- ratio was lower for BOC-Li (8.5%) than for BOC (10.3%), indicating a relative decrease in bicarbonate-mediated protonation and a correspondingly greater reliance on water-derived protons for BOC-Li.

Source evidence

The reaction was conducted under a constant temperature mode, with microwave and ultrasonic powers both set to 500 W. The temperature was ramped to 150 °C within 10 minutes and maintained for 20 minutes using an automated program.

Condition evidence

Time: 10 min / 20 min / 12 h

Equipment evidence

The flask was then connected to a microwave/ultrasonic synthesizer (XH-300A, Beijing Xianghu Science and Technology Development Co., Ltd.), equipped with a condensation setup.

Stability evidence

Stability evidence: source values include 30 min, 3 h. Entities: BOC-Li.

Source evidence

BOC-Li demonstrates excellent operational stability over 289 hours at 100 mA cm-2 with the FEHCOO- over 95%.