Highly efficient and selective CO₂ electro-reduction with atomic Fe-C-N hybrid coordination on porous carbon nematosphere

Carbon dioxide reduction (CO₂RR) has become a promising way to address the energy and environmental crisis, of which the fundamental development of the optimal electrocatalysts is the crucial part. Herein, we develop Fe and N doping porous carbon nematosphere (FeNPCN) as an excellent CO₂RR electrocatalyst in aqueous electrolyte. Featuring with the high conductivity, pore structure and abundant Fe and N doping, FeNPCN exhibits high catalytic activity with a high faradaic selectivity of CO (94%) and long-term durability. Moreover, the ratio of CO and H₂ can be changed by the applied potential for the different syngas related industry. Density functional theory (DFT) calculation results also reveal that the excellent catalytic activity is likely attributed to C and N hybrid coordination with atomic Fe.