Aminopolymer-functionalized hollow carbon spheres incorporating Ag nanoparticles for electrochemical syngas production from CO2

Electrochemical CO2 reduction (CO2RR) to produce syngas (CO and H2) is a highly attractive way for achieving carbon neutrality. However, it remains a challenge due to the lack of high-efficiency electrocatalysts that enables controllable CO/H2 ratio syngas production. Herein, aminopolymer functionalized hollow carbon spheres incorporating Ag NPs (Ag-P@HCS) are developed, which function as active catalysts for syngas electrosynthesis. The introduction of aminopolymers results in finely improved dispersion of Ag NPs and increased CO2 adsorption of Ag-P@HCS, thereby altering its CO2RR performance. As a result, Ag-P@HCS achieves a 4.6-fold increase in the Faradaic efficiency of CO when compared to the amiopolymer-free analog (Ag-HCS) at − 0.8 V vs. RHE. More importantly, the controllable CO/H2 ratios (1.09 – 2.54) can be obtained for Ag-P@HCS over a wide potential window, which is capable of meeting the specific requirements for industrial production. This work demonstrates the potential of aminopolymer functionalization for designing high-performance CO2RR electrocatalysts.