Nitrogen configuration engineering in carbon‐encapsulated Ni nanocatalysts for efficient <scp> CO <sub>2</sub> </scp> / <scp> MgCO <sub>3</sub> </scp> electroreduction

Abstract Electrocatalytic CO 2 reduction into value‐added products enables carbon cycling and renewable energy storage. Developing non‐precious metal catalysts with high activity, selectivity, and long‐term stability remains challenging. Herein, we design nitrogen‐doped carbon‐encapsulated Ni nanoparticles (Ni‐N‐C) using layered double hydroxide as precursors. The pyridinic‐to‐pyrrolic N ratio (Npy/Npr) is tuned by pyrolysis temperature. The optimal Ni‐N‐C‐750 (Npy/Npr ≈1) delivers a CO Faradaic efficiency of 97.8% at −1.5 V versus Ag/AgCl, maintains &gt;80% CO selectivity across a broad current density range, and exhibits &gt;100 h stability. The balanced N configuration optimizes the electronic structure, lowering the *COOH formation barrier while suppressing hydrogen evolution. Furthermore, using MgCO 3 as a solid carbon source enables tunable syngas (CO/H 2 up to ~0.1) and Mg(OH) 2 byproduct, demonstrating the coupling of carbonate conversion with CO 2 RR. This work establishes nitrogen configuration engineering as a design principle for efficient and durable carbon‐encapsulated electrocatalysts, providing a platform for coupling carbonate conversion.

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Publication Details

Journal
AIChE Journal
Published
2026-07-26
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1002/aic.70556
Primary Topic
CO2 Reduction Techniques and Catalysts
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
0.00

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article

Nitrogen configuration engineering in carbon‐encapsulated Ni nanocatalysts for efficient CO 2 / MgCO 3 electroreduction

Hongri Suo, Jian Zhang, Qiuhong Sun, Xiao‐Jue Bai et al.
AIChE Journal
CO2 Reduction Techniques and Catalysts
article

Nitrogen configuration engineering in carbon‐encapsulated Ni nanocatalysts for efficient CO 2 / MgCO 3 electroreduction

Hongri Suo, Jian Zhang, Qiuhong Sun, Xiao‐Jue Bai, Zhijia Yang, Meng Wang, Wenjing Dong, Yufei Zhao, P D Li
article en

Abstract

Abstract Electrocatalytic CO 2 reduction into value‐added products enables carbon cycling and renewable energy storage. Developing non‐precious metal catalysts with high activity, selectivity, and long‐term stability remains challenging. Herein, we design nitrogen‐doped carbon‐encapsulated Ni nanoparticles (Ni‐N‐C) using layered double hydroxide as precursors. The pyridinic‐to‐pyrrolic N ratio (Npy/Npr) is tuned by pyrolysis temperature. The optimal Ni‐N‐C‐750 (Npy/Npr ≈1) delivers a CO Faradaic efficiency of 97.8% at −1.5 V versus Ag/AgCl, maintains &gt;80% CO selectivity across a broad current density range, and exhibits &gt;100 h stability. The balanced N configuration optimizes the electronic structure, lowering the *COOH formation barrier while suppressing hydrogen evolution. Furthermore, using MgCO 3 as a solid carbon source enables tunable syngas (CO/H 2 up to ~0.1) and Mg(OH) 2 byproduct, demonstrating the coupling of carbonate conversion with CO 2 RR. This work establishes nitrogen configuration engineering as a design principle for efficient and durable carbon‐encapsulated electrocatalysts, providing a platform for coupling carbonate conversion.

AIChE Journal
Southern University of Science and Technology (CN), Quzhou University (CN), Beijing University of Chemical Technology (CN)
National Natural Science Foundation of China, Science, Technology and Innovation Commission of Shenzhen Municipality
Openalex Percentile: Top 24%
CO2 Reduction Techniques and Catalysts
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