Imine‐Nitrogen‐Doped Carbon Nanotubes for the Electrocatalytic Reduction of Flue Gas CO2

Abstract Imine‐nitrogen‐doped carbon nanotubes (NCNTs) were prepared by pyrolysis using polyaniline as a major nitrogen source. They can electrocatalytically reduce CO 2 to CO with high selectivity and efficiency. The current density of CO presented a volcanic distribution in the applied potential between −0.53 and −0.93 V (vs RHE), reaching 13.8 mA ⋅ cm −2 at −0.83 V. The maximum Faraday efficiency reached 93 % at −0.63 V, and the current density of CO was 6.8 mA ⋅ cm −2 . Furthermore, the catalyst can directly reduce CO 2 in simulated flue gas (15 % CO 2, 77 % N 2 and 8 % O 2 ) and exhibited a high CO FE of 70 %. The high catalytic activity originates from rich content of imine‐nitrogen in NCNTs, serving as the active sites for catalysis.