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Bamboo-like N-doped carbon nanotubes encapsulating M(Co, Fe)-Ni alloy for electrochemical production of syngas with potential-independent CO/H2 ratios

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Abstract

The electrochemical conversion of CO2-H2O into CO-H2 using renewable energy is a promising technique for clean syngas production. Low-cost electrocatalysts to produce tunable syngas with a potential-independent CO/H2 ratio are highly desired. Herein, a series of N-doped carbon nanotubes encapsulating binary alloy nanoparticles (MxNi-NCNT, M= Fe, Co) were successfully fabricated through the co-pyrolysis of mela-mine and metal precursors. The MxNi-NCNT samples exhibited bamboo-like nanotubular structures with a large specific surface area and high degree of graphitization. Their electrocatalytic performance for syngas production can be tuned by changing the alloy compositions and modifying the electronic structure of the carbon nanotube through the encapsulated metal nanoparticles. Consequently, syngas with a wide range of CO/H2 ratios, from 0.5:1 to 3.4:1, can be produced on MxNi-NCNT. More importantly, stable CO/H2 ratios of 2:1 and 1.5:1, corresponding to the ratio to produce biofuels by syngas fermentation, could be realized on Co1Ni-NCNT and Co2Ni-NCNT, respectively, over a potential window of −0.8 to −1.2 V versus the reversible hydrogen electrode. Our work provides an approach to develop low-cost and potential-independent electrocatalysts to effectively produce syngas with an adjustable CO/H2 ratio from electrochemical CO2 reduction.

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Acknowledgements

This research was funded by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant Nos. 21873067 and 21206117). We are grateful to the analysis and test center of Tianjin University for providing physical characterizations (XRD, SEM, TEM, XPS).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Key Laboratory for Green Chemical Technology of Ministry of Education, Collaborative Innovation Center of Chemical Science and Engineering, School of Chemical Engineering and Technology, Tianjin University, Tianjin, 300072, China

    Jinxiao Bo, Mei Li, Xinli Zhu, Jinyu Han & Hua Wang

  2. Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Southern Illinois University, Carbondale, IL, 62901, USA

    Qingfeng Ge

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  1. Jinxiao Bo
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  2. Mei Li
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  3. Xinli Zhu
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  4. Qingfeng Ge
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  6. Hua Wang
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Correspondence to Hua Wang.

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11705_2021_2082_MOESM1_ESM.pdf

Bamboo-like N-doped carbon nanotubes encapsulating M(Co, Fe)-Ni alloy for electrochemical production of syngas with potential-independent CO/H2 ratios

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Bo, J., Li, M., Zhu, X. et al. Bamboo-like N-doped carbon nanotubes encapsulating M(Co, Fe)-Ni alloy for electrochemical production of syngas with potential-independent CO/H2 ratios. Front. Chem. Sci. Eng. 16, 498–510 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11705-021-2082-6

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