Multi-heteroatom-doped porous carbon electrodes from 3D printing and conformal carbonization of ionic liquids for electrocatalytic CO2 conversion into syngas

Abstract 3D printing as an advanced manufacturing technique provides an alternative cost-effective option for design and preparation of porous catalytic electrodes. Herein, carbonaceous catalytic electrodes with ternary dopants of boron (B), phosphorous (P), and nitrogen (N) (termed BPN-3Dp-CCEs) were successfully engineered via combination of the 3D printing technique and the following conformal carbonization of ionic liquid. The as-made electrodes were in turn applied to electrify CO 2 into syngas in a controllable composition of a H 2 :CO molar ratio of 0.32–3.46. Notably, the BPN-3Dp-CCEs have tailored 3D macroscopic shapes of self-supporting skeletons, and due to ternary doping, demonstrated promoted catalytic activity in the electrocatalytic CO 2 conversion into syngas. Upon optimization, the electrode remained stable in structure and performance after 10 h of a continuous CO 2 electrolysis operation. This study casts insights and fuels the continuous exploration of multi-heteroatoms doped porous carbon electrodes for metal-free catalytic applications.