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Atomic nickel on controllable mesoporous carbon nanospheres to boost electrochemical carbon dioxide reduction

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Abstract

One of the most effective methods for resolving the energy and environmental crises facing modern society is the electrocatalytic reduction of carbon dioxide. To achieve great energy efficiency and excellent selectivity for the target product, however, two internal difficulties must be overcome: the high energy barrier needed to activate carbon dioxide and the linear proportionate relationship between the combinations of intermediate adsorbents. A triazine-based controllable microporous carbon nanospheres supported metal monoatomic Ni electrocatalyst (Ni SACs/MC NPs) with clear and stable structure, high specific surface area, and integrated CO2 capture, and catalysis was created using a straightforward self-assembly strategy of aqueous lotion polymerization. This catalyst can function effectively in strong alkaline electrolytic solutions. The single-atom nickel loading amount is up to 15.38 wt%, which can show up to nearly 100% CO selectivity at ~ 200 mA cm−2 current. After more than 10 h of stability test, its catalytic performance has no obvious performance degradation, showing high stability. The excellent activity and stability of Ni-SACs/MC NPs can be attributed to the porous structure of the material, Ni metal single-atom and metal-carrier electronic effect (EMSI). The synthesis method of this material also provides a reference for the synthesis of other single-atom materials.

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Data would be available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.

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Funding

This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Project Number 22109099, 22008155, 22278269 and 21975161), Industrial Collaborative Innovation Project of Shanghai (Project Number 2021-cyxt1-kj37 and XTCX-KJ-2022–70), “Chen Guang” project supported by Shanghai Municipal Education Commission and Shanghai Education Development Foundation (21CGA66), Shanghai Sailing Program No. 21YF1415400.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Chemistry and Environmental Engineering, Shanghai Engineering Research Center of Physical Vapor Deposition (PVD) Superhard Coating and Equipment, Shanghai Institute of Technology, Shanghai, 201418, China

    Xin Pu, Wenxuan Zhang, Da Shi, Sheng Han & Likun Xiong

  2. School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Shihezi University, Shihezi, 832003, China

    Mutian Ma

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  1. Xin Pu
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  2. Wenxuan Zhang
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  3. Mutian Ma
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  4. Da Shi
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Contributions

Pu engaged in the material synthesis and characterization, as well as in the comprehensive revision of the manuscript. Zhang contributed to the initial draft preparation and conducted select synthesis experiments. Xiong provided pivotal experimental concepts and participated in the paper's overarching revision. Han, Ma, and Shi partook in the manuscript refinement process.

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Correspondence to Da Shi, Sheng Han or Likun Xiong.

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Pu, X., Zhang, W., Ma, M. et al. Atomic nickel on controllable mesoporous carbon nanospheres to boost electrochemical carbon dioxide reduction. Ionics 29, 3683–3692 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11581-023-05095-8

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