Catalytic reduction of low-concentration CO2 with water by Pt/Co@NC

The reduction of low-concentration carbon dioxide with water to organic fuels is still a huge challenge. In this study, we successfully designed the partially oxidized cobalt nanoparticles coated by the nitrogen-doped carbon layer (Co@NC) of 2-8 nm via a facile method and then interspersed with different amount of Pt nanoparticles. The Co@NC decorated with 1 wt% Pt exhibits the best ability for CO2 reduction to CH4 and a CH4 production rate of 14.4 μmol·g−1·h−1 is achieved. It is worth noting that the system is carried out under low-concentration CO2 (400 ppm) circumstance without any sacrificial agent, which could be meaningful to the design of catalysts for atmospheric CO2 reduction.