Ternary heterostructural CoO/CN/Ni catalyst for promoted CO2 electroreduction to methanol

Methanol is one of the most desirable C1 products in the electrocatalytic CO2 reduction reaction (CO2RR). The intricate nature of the reaction pathway involving six-electron transfer, however, makes the process highly challenging. In this work, we report a ternary heterostructural catalyst CoO/CN/Ni, with cobalt as catalytic centers supported on N-doped carbon with underlying nickel, which presents a remarkably promoted Faraday efficiency (70.7%) and current density (10.6 mA/cm(2)) towards methanol, compared with CoO/CN. It appears that the nickel underneath plays an essential role by donating electrons to outer CN layer and thus changes the electronic state of surface and then of the cobalt species which act as catalytic centers. Notably, the unique catalyst shows not only high electrocatalytic activity and selectivity to CH3OH, but also suppression of H-2 formation and well-preserved catalytic performance during the long-term test of reaction. Simultaneously, isotropic labeling and electrochemical experiment prove the carbon source. (C) 2020 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Automated summary

In this study, a ternary heterostructural catalyst CoO/CN/Ni was reported, which significantly enhanced the Faraday efficiency and current density towards methanol. The catalyst showed high electrocatalytic activity, selectivity to CH3OH, suppression of H-2 formation, and well-preserved performance during long-term testing.