A tandem nanoreactor constructed by coating Cu2O on the surface of single-atom catalyst Ni-NC3 for electroreduction of CO2 to C2 products

Abstract

Electroreduction of CO₂ to C₂ products is an extremely significant and challenging undertaking. Herein, by electrodepositing Cu₂O to encapsulate the single-atom catalyst Ni-NC₃, we fabricated a core–shell tandem nanoreactor, designated as Ni-NC₃@Cu₂O, for electrocatalytic reduction of CO₂ to C₂ products. Notably, under the potential of −1.4 V vs. RHE and strongly alkaline conditions, Ni-NC₃@Cu₂O manifested a high Faradaic efficiency (C₂) of 59% and industrial partial current density of 448 mA cm⁻² in the electroreduction of CO₂ to C₂ products.