Promoting electrochemical reduction of CO2 to ethanol by B/N-doped sp3/sp2 nanocarbon electrode

• Published in: Chinese chemical letters Vol. 33; no. 10; pp. 4691 - 4694
• Main Authors: Liu, Yanming, Yang, Haolei, Fan, Xinfei, Shan, Bing, Meyer, Thomas J.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Elsevier B.V 01.10.2022; Department of Chemistry,University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill,Chapel Hill,North Carolina 27599,United States%Key Laboratory of Industrial Ecology and Environmental Engineering(Ministry of Education),School of Environmental Science and Technology,Dalian University of Technology,Dalian 116024,China%College of Environmental Science and Engineering,Dalian Maritime University,Dalian 116026,China%Department of Chemistry,University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill,Chapel Hill,North Carolina 27599,United States; Key Laboratory of Industrial Ecology and Environmental Engineering(Ministry of Education),School of Environmental Science and Technology,Dalian University of Technology,Dalian 116024,China
• Subjects: B/N-doped sp3/sp2 hybridized nanocarbon; CO2 reduction; Electrocatalysis; Ethanol; multi-carbon product; B/N-doped sp3/sp2 hybridized nanocarbon; Electrocatalysis; Ethanol; CO2 reduction; multi-carbon product; Electrocatalysis multi-carbon product
• ISSN: 1001-8417; 1878-5964
• DOI: 10.1016/j.cclet.2021.12.063

Electrochemical reduction of CO2 to value-added chemicals holds promise for carbon utilization and renewable electricity storage. However, selective CO2 reduction to multi-carbon fuels remains a significant challenge. Here, we report that B/N-doped sp3/sp2 hybridized nanocarbon (BNHC), consisting of ultra-small nanoparticles with a sp3 carbon core covered by a sp2 carbon shell, is an efficient electrocatalyst for electrochemical reduction of CO2 to ethanol at relatively low overpotentials. CO2 reduction occurs with a Faradaic efficiency of 58.8%-69.1% for ethanol and acetate production at −0.5 ∼ −0.6 V (vs. RHE), among which 51.6%-56.0% is for ethanol. The high selectivity for ethanol is due to the integrated effect of sp3/sp2 carbon and B/N doping. Both sp3 carbon and B/N doping contribute to enhanced ethanol production with sp2 carbon reducing the overpotential for CO2 reduction to ethanol. B/N-doped sp3/sp2 nanocarbon is efficient for electrochemical reduction of CO2 to ethanol with high selectivity at low overpotential. Both sp3 carbon and B/N doping contribute to enhanced ethanol production with sp2 carbon reducing the overpotential for CO2 reduction to ethanol. [Display omitted]