CuNi alloy nanoparticles embedded in N-doped carbon framework for electrocatalytic reduction of CO2 to CO

Electrochemical conversion of CO2 into renewable fuel offers a promising approach to address the rising greenhouse gas accumulation in the atmosphere. The exploration of low-cost and efficient electrocatalysts with high selectivity is of great importance for development of electrochemical CO2 reduction (ECO2R). Here, we presented a CuNi alloy catalyst embedded in the N-doped carbon framework (CuNi/NC) derived from a metal-organic framework (Cu/Ni/Zn-MOF). The optimized Cu0.543Ni1/NC achieved high Faraday efficiency of CO (>90%) in the wide potential range of − 0.3 V to − 0.8 V. The maximum efficiency of CO was 99.7% at − 0.6 V. This study provided a strategy to construct non-precious metal electrocatalysts with high CO selectivity in wide potential range.