Ni Cluster‐Decorated Single‐Atom Catalysts Achieve Near‐Unity CO <sub>2</sub> ‐to‐CO Conversion with an Ultrawide Potential Window of ≈1.7 V

Developing efficient electrocatalysts for CO<sub>2</sub> reduction to CO within a broad potential range is meaningful for cascade application integration. In this work, hydrogen spillover is created and utilized to cultivate a proton-rich environment via the simple thermolysis of a Ni-doped Zn coordination polymer (Zn CPs (Ni)) to create asymmetric Ni single atoms co-located with adjacent Ni nanoclusters on nitrogen-doped carbon, termed as Ni<sub>NC&SA</sub>/N-C, which expedites the hydrogenation of adsorbed CO<sub>2</sub>. Therefore, the sample demonstrates near-unity CO<sub>2</sub>-to-CO conversion efficiency under pH-universal conditions in ultra-wide potential windows: -0.39 to -2.05 V versus RHE with the current densities ranging from 0.1 to 1.0 A cm<sup>-2</sup> in alkaline conditions, -0.83 to -2.40 V versus RHE from 0.1 to 0.9 A cm<sup>-2</sup> in neutral environments, and -0.98 to -2.25 V versus RHE across 0.1 to 0.8 A cm<sup>-2</sup> in acid conditions. Corresponding in situ measurements and density functional theory (DFT) calculations suggest that the enhanced H<sub>2</sub>O dissociation and more efficient hydrogen spillover on Ni<sub>NC&SA</sub>/N-C (compared to Ni<sub>SA</sub>/N-C) accelerate the protonation of adsorbed CO<sub>2</sub> to form *COOH intermediates. This work emphasizes the significant role of proton spillover in CO<sub>2</sub>RR, opening novel avenues for designing high-performance catalysts applicable to various electrocatalytic processes.

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Journal
Small
Published
2024-09-26
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1002/smll.202405367
Citations
14
Primary Topic
CO2 Reduction Techniques and Catalysts
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
1.43

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article

Ni Cluster‐Decorated Single‐Atom Catalysts Achieve Near‐Unity CO 2 ‐to‐CO Conversion with an Ultrawide Potential Window of ≈1.7 V

Junjie Mao, Rongrong Pan, Yun Yang, Wei Chen et al.
14 citations
Small
CO2 Reduction Techniques and Catalysts
1.43
article

Ni Cluster‐Decorated Single‐Atom Catalysts Achieve Near‐Unity CO 2 ‐to‐CO Conversion with an Ultrawide Potential Window of ≈1.7 V

Junjie Mao, Rongrong Pan, Yun Yang, Wei Chen, Yapeng Li, Jian Zhang, Yaqian Li, Qingqing Chen, Xi Cao, Ge Meng
article en
14 citations

Abstract

Developing efficient electrocatalysts for CO<sub>2</sub> reduction to CO within a broad potential range is meaningful for cascade application integration. In this work, hydrogen spillover is created and utilized to cultivate a proton-rich environment via the simple thermolysis of a Ni-doped Zn coordination polymer (Zn CPs (Ni)) to create asymmetric Ni single atoms co-located with adjacent Ni nanoclusters on nitrogen-doped carbon, termed as Ni<sub>NC&SA</sub>/N-C, which expedites the hydrogenation of adsorbed CO<sub>2</sub>. Therefore, the sample demonstrates near-unity CO<sub>2</sub>-to-CO conversion efficiency under pH-universal conditions in ultra-wide potential windows: -0.39 to -2.05 V versus RHE with the current densities ranging from 0.1 to 1.0 A cm<sup>-2</sup> in alkaline conditions, -0.83 to -2.40 V versus RHE from 0.1 to 0.9 A cm<sup>-2</sup> in neutral environments, and -0.98 to -2.25 V versus RHE across 0.1 to 0.8 A cm<sup>-2</sup> in acid conditions. Corresponding in situ measurements and density functional theory (DFT) calculations suggest that the enhanced H<sub>2</sub>O dissociation and more efficient hydrogen spillover on Ni<sub>NC&SA</sub>/N-C (compared to Ni<sub>SA</sub>/N-C) accelerate the protonation of adsorbed CO<sub>2</sub> to form *COOH intermediates. This work emphasizes the significant role of proton spillover in CO<sub>2</sub>RR, opening novel avenues for designing high-performance catalysts applicable to various electrocatalytic processes.

SmallVol. 20(49)
University of Science and Technology of China (CN), Wenzhou University (CN), Anhui Normal University (CN)
National Natural Science Foundation of China
Industry, innovation and infrastructure
Openalex Percentile: Top 20%
CO2 Reduction Techniques and Catalysts
1.43
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