Issue 29, 2025

Controllable construction of cobalt nanoparticles in nitrogen-doped carbon nanotubes for photothermal CO2 methanation

Abstract

The development of non-noble metal catalysts for efficient CO2 methanation reaction under mild conditions remains a significant challenge. Herein, a non-noble metal catalyst, cobalt nanoparticles (Co NPs) encapsulated within the hollow channels of nitrogen-doped carbon nanotubes (Co@CN-700), was prepared by a pyrolysis-reduction strategy for photothermal CO2 methanation. Remarkably, the Co@CN-700 catalyst achieved a prominent CH4 production rate of 199.4 mmol gcat−1 h−1 with near-unity selectivity (99.4%) and high CO2 conversion (85.8%) at 250 °C, which is outstanding compared to the catalysts reported. The electromagnetic simulation and density functional theory calculations demonstrated that the plasmonic resonance effect of Co NPs enhances the local electric field and thereby alters the intermediate states and rate-limiting step to facilitate CO2 methanation. This work offers a straightforward and effective approach for designing non-noble metal catalysts with high activity, selectivity, and stability.

Graphical abstract: Controllable construction of cobalt nanoparticles in nitrogen-doped carbon nanotubes for photothermal CO2 methanation

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Edge Article
Submitted
08 Apr 2025
Accepted
17 Jun 2025
First published
17 Jun 2025
This article is Open Access

All publication charges for this article have been paid for by the Royal Society of Chemistry
Creative Commons BY license

Chem. Sci., 2025,16, 13382-13389

Controllable construction of cobalt nanoparticles in nitrogen-doped carbon nanotubes for photothermal CO2 methanation

Z. Xia, J. Zhai, L. Lin, X. Chen, C. Xue, S. Jia, J. Jiao, M. Dong, W. Han, X. Zheng, T. Xue, H. Wu and B. Han, Chem. Sci., 2025, 16, 13382 DOI: 10.1039/D5SC02602D

This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported Licence. You can use material from this article in other publications without requesting further permissions from the RSC, provided that the correct acknowledgement is given.

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