Nitrogen-doped mesoporous carbon single crystal-based Ag nanoparticles for boosting mild CO2 conversion with terminal alkynes

Fabrication of efficient heterogeneous catalysts with high turnover frequency (TOF) is intriguing for rapid and scalable CO2 conversion under mild conditions, but it still faces some challenges due to use of some bulky and irregular supports causing inaccessible inner pores and insufficient utilization of active sites. Herein, using a unique nitrogen-doped mesoporous single-crystal carbon (named IRFC) as a host for loading Ag nanoparticles for the first time, a series of Ag/IRFC catalysts with high TOF (8.7-22.3 h-1) were facilely prepared by a novel "impregnation and in-situ reduction" strategy. The neat morphology and high porosity of IRFC with abundant N species, providing homogeneous surface, adequate space and anchoring sites for Ag immobilization, greatly facilitated the formation of highly-distributed ultrasmall Ag nanoparticles (2.3 nm). Meanwhile, smooth and short diffusion pathways were inherited from the ordered mesopores and small particle sizes of IRFC. Owing to these unparalleled structural features, the Ag/IRFC catalysts exhibited excellent catalytic activity, stability, and generality for mild CO2 conversion even under diluted conditions. This work not only presents a novel catalyst for mild CO2 conversion, but also brings some inspirations to designing highly efficient catalysts using well-shaped supporting nanomaterials for direct utilization of low-concentration CO2, such as flue gas.