Efficient CO2 reduction under visible light: Synergistic effects of Cu nanoparticles and Ni single atoms

Photocatalytic reduction of CO2 is a considerable method to alleviate global warming and energy shortage. In this work, CoAl-LDH/Ni1CuNP nitrogen-doped carbon composites (CA/Ni1CuNP N-C) can efficiently reduce CO2 into CO, CH4, and C2H6 under visible light. In situ characterization techniques and theoretical calculations were employed to investigate the CO2 evolution pathway and photocatalytic mechanism. The synergistic interaction of Cu nanoparticles and Ni single-atom sites accelerated the photogenerated charge separation and facilitated the adsorption properties of key intermediates. As a result, the yields of CH4 and C2H6 on CA/Ni1CuNP N-C were achieved up to 35.245 and 25.328 mu mol g(-1) h(-1) with electron selectivity of 40.24% and 50.61%, respectively. This work is instructive for using metal nanoparticles to optimize single-atom catalysts to promote their catalytic activity.

Automated summary

In this work, nitrogen-doped carbon composites (CA/Ni1CuNP N-C) were used to efficiently convert CO2 into CO, CH4, and C2H6 under visible light. The synergistic interaction between Cu nanoparticles and Ni single-atom sites enhanced the catalytic performance by accelerating charge separation and improving adsorption properties. This study provides insights into using metal nanoparticles to optimize single-atom catalysts for enhanced activity.