TY - JOUR
T1 - Unravelling the Effect of Activators used in The Synthesis of Biomass-Derived Carbon Electrocatalysts on the Electrocatalytic Performance for CO2 Reduction
AU - Fu, Shilong
AU - Li, Ming
AU - Asperti, Simone
AU - de Jong, Wiebren
AU - Kortlever, Ruud
PY - 2023
Y1 - 2023
N2 - N-doped carbon materials can be efficient and cost-effective catalysts for the electrochemical CO2 reduction reaction (CO2RR). Activators are often used in the synthesis process to increase the specific surface area and porosity of these carbon materials. However, owing to the diversity of activators and the differences in physicochemical properties that these activators induce, the influence of activators used for the synthesis of N-doped carbon catalysts on their electrochemical performance is unclear. In this study, a series of bagasse-derived N-doped carbon catalysts is prepared with the assistance of different activators to understand the correlation between activators, physicochemical properties, and electrocatalytic performance for the CO2RR. The properties of N-doped carbon catalysts, such as N-doping content, microstructure, and degree of graphitization, are found to be highly dependent on the type of activator applied in the synthesis procedure. Moreover, the overall CO2RR performance of the synthesized electrocatalysts is not determined only by the N-doping level and the configuration of the N-dopant, but rather by the overall surface chemistry, where the porosity and the degree of graphitization are jointly responsible for significant differences in CO2RR performance.
AB - N-doped carbon materials can be efficient and cost-effective catalysts for the electrochemical CO2 reduction reaction (CO2RR). Activators are often used in the synthesis process to increase the specific surface area and porosity of these carbon materials. However, owing to the diversity of activators and the differences in physicochemical properties that these activators induce, the influence of activators used for the synthesis of N-doped carbon catalysts on their electrochemical performance is unclear. In this study, a series of bagasse-derived N-doped carbon catalysts is prepared with the assistance of different activators to understand the correlation between activators, physicochemical properties, and electrocatalytic performance for the CO2RR. The properties of N-doped carbon catalysts, such as N-doping content, microstructure, and degree of graphitization, are found to be highly dependent on the type of activator applied in the synthesis procedure. Moreover, the overall CO2RR performance of the synthesized electrocatalysts is not determined only by the N-doping level and the configuration of the N-dopant, but rather by the overall surface chemistry, where the porosity and the degree of graphitization are jointly responsible for significant differences in CO2RR performance.
KW - biomass
KW - carbon activation
KW - CO valorization
KW - doping
KW - electrocatalysis
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85150609033&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1002/cssc.202202188
DO - 10.1002/cssc.202202188
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85150609033
VL - 16
JO - ChemSusChem (Print): chemistry & sustainability, energy & materials
JF - ChemSusChem (Print): chemistry & sustainability, energy & materials
SN - 1864-5631
IS - 9
M1 - e202202188
ER -