Ni single-atom anchored N-doped carbon deposited on BaTiO3 for efficient piezocatalytic CO2 reduction

Abstract

Excessive CO₂ emissions disrupt the global carbon cycle and necessitate the development of sustainable strategies for carbon-neutral energy conversion. Piezocatalysis, which harvests mechanical energy to drive CO₂ reduction under mild conditions, is a promising but underexplored approach for converting CO₂ into valuable chemical feedstocks. In this study, single Ni atoms immobilised on N-doped carbon deposited on BaTiO₃ exhibit a high piezocatalytic performance for CO₂-to-CO conversion under ultrasonic vibration. The single Ni atoms are coordinated in the Ni-N₄ structure within the N-doped carbon. Comprehensive analyses show that the N-doped carbon facilitates charge separation and transfer, whereas the atomically dispersed Ni centres substantially accelerate the CO₂-reduction process. The synergistic effect of Ni single-atoms and N-doped carbon significantly promotes piezocatalytic CO₂-to-CO conversion, resulting in a rate 3.1 times higher than that of pristine BaTiO₃. These findings may open a new strategy for designing atomically dispersed transition-metal sites integrated with piezoelectric materials for CO₂ reduction.