Rational design of metal–nitrogen-codoped carbon nanotube catalysts for CO2 reduction based on NiZn-layered double hydroxides

Abstract

The reasonable design of metal anchored on the carbon framework catalyst (M-N-C) for the CO₂ reduction reaction (CO₂RR) is crucial to fully enhancing mass transfer and exposing active sites. Herein, the prefabricated CNT was wisely selected as the carrier for M-N. In particular, M-N-C, which was identified as the active center, was constructed by controlling the assembly and high-temperature nitriding between single-layer NiZn-layered double hydroxide (LDH) and CNT. CNT-N-NiZn exhibited a high CO faradaic efficiency of 92.6% with a CO current density of 17.0 mA cm⁻² at −0.8 V vs. RHE in 0.5 M KHCO₃ electrolyte. This study elucidates the M-N-C catalyst activity source and provides new insights into the M-N-C structure design.