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Nickel Nanoparticles with Narrow Size Distribution Confined in Nitrogen-Doped Carbon for Efficient Reduction of CO2 to CO

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Abstract

Facilely tailored electrocatalyst with high-efficiency and durability for carbon dioxide (CO2) to carbon monoxide (CO) conversion is appealing but remains challenging. Herein, small nickel nanoparticles (about 19.4 nm) confined in nitrogen-doped carbon (Ni NPs@N–C) with narrow size distribution are successfully constructed via a facile one-step calcination strategy of Ni containing MOF compounds. By virtue of the protective N-doped graphitized carbon shell and the uniformly distributed fine Ni nanoparticles in a narrow range from 13 to 21 nm, the as-obtained Ni NPs@N–C can exclusively convert CO2 into CO with excellent Faradaic efficiency (FE) of 96.8% at − 1.0 V (vs. RHE), as well as the superior long-term catalytic stability over 24 h. Moreover, a high current density of more than 200 mA cm−2 with a stable CO FE of 92% can be achieved in a flow cell configuration. This work paves a new way for the facile and potentially scale preparation of small metal nanoparticles for efficient CO2- to-CO conversion.

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Acknowledgements

This research work was supported by the Natural Science Foundation of Jiangxi Province (No. 20192ACB21015).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Resource, Environmental and Chemical Engineering, Nanchang University, No. 999 Xuefu Avenue, Jiangxi, 330031, People’s Republic of China

    Jiejing Huang, Shixia Chen, Fangqi Yang, Weikang Yu, Qiangguo Meng, Haoming Yu, Zheling Zeng & Jun Wang

  2. School for Engineering of Matter, Transport and Energy, Arizona State University, 551 E. Tyler Mall, Tempe, AZ, 85287, USA

    Shuguang Deng

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  1. Jiejing Huang
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Huang, J., Chen, S., Yang, F. et al. Nickel Nanoparticles with Narrow Size Distribution Confined in Nitrogen-Doped Carbon for Efficient Reduction of CO2 to CO. Catal Lett 152, 600–609 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10562-021-03662-0

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