Highly efficient and selective CO2 electro-reduction with atomic Fe-C-N hybrid coordination on porous carbon nematosphere

Carbon dioxide reduction (CO2RR) has become a promising way to address the energy and environmental crisis, of which the fundamental development of the optimal electrocatalysts is the crucial part. Herein, we develop Fe and N doping porous carbon nematosphere (FeNPCN) as an excellent CO2RR electrocatalyst in aqueous electrolyte. Featuring with the high conductivity, pore structure and abundant Fe and N doping, FeNPCN exhibits high catalytic activity with a high faradaic selectivity of CO (94%) and long-term durability. Moreover, the ratio of CO and H2 can be changed by the applied potential for the different syngas related industry. Density functional theory (DFT) calculation results also reveal that the excellent catalytic activity is likely attributed to C and N hybrid coordination with atomic Fe.