Catalysis

Composite number

Engineering

Electrochemistry

Metallurgy

Materials science

Carbon monoxide

Carbon fibers

Inorganic chemistry

Chemical engineering

Faraday efficiency

Physical chemistry

Hydrogen

Reversible hydrogen electrode

Nanotechnology

Organic chemistry

Carbon nanotube

Composite material

Chemistry

Selectivity

Electrode

Working electrode

Electrochemical reduction of carbon dioxide

Nickel

Applied Catalysis B Environment and Energy

An excellent CO 2 electroreduction catalytic performance with exceptionally high activity and selectivity was achieved on atomically dispersed Ni sites. • A facile synthesis route of single-nickel-atomic dispersed N-doped carbon framework was developed. • An excellent CO 2 electroreduction catalytic performance with exceptionally high activity and selectivity was achieved on atomically dispersed nickel sites. • Adding extra N source increased low-coordinated sites and created a favourable structure which improved electrocatalytic performance of single-nickel-atomic catalyst. While converting carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) into value-added carbon products by electrolyzing offers a promising approach to mitigate global warming and store energy, poor selectivity and stability of catalysts still impede this conversion. Single-atom catalyst exhibits exceptional selectivity for CO 2 electroreduction reaction in response to inhibiting hydrogen evolution reaction (HER), which is the major obstacle to the development of CO 2 reduction. Herein we introduce a facile approach to obtain Ni-N x sites encapsulating into carbon nanotubes with a nickel loading as high as 6.63 wt%. This catalyst exhibits high Faradaic efficiency approximately 95% for CO 2 electroreduction to carbon monoxide (CO) in the wide potential range from −0.7 to −1.0 V, and the current density reaches 57.1 mA cm −2 at −1.0 V versus a reversible hydrogen electrode (RHE). Experiments and characterization results demonstrate that nickel chemical state and content play a vital role for CO 2 electrocatalytic performance. Moreover, the simplifying of the synthesis may shed a new light on design single atom catalysts of electrochemistry in addition to CO 2 reduction.

Facile synthesis of single-nickel-atomic dispersed N-doped carbon framework for efficient electrochemical CO2 reduction