Synergistic Interaction of Nitrogen-Doped Carbon Nanorod Array Anchored with Cobalt Phthalocyanine for Electrochemical Reduction of CO₂

Electrochemical conversion of CO2 into valuable product is regarded as an attractive approach to fix and utilize atmospheric CO2, but it has been hampered due to small current density, poor selectivity, and poor durability of catalyst. Herein, a 3D nanoarrays, cobalt phthalocyanine anchored by a N-doped porous carbon nanorod (N–C–CoPc NR), is designed as an excellent electrocatalyst for efficient electrochemical reduction of CO2 into CO. The prepared N–C–CoPc NR structure not only strengthens the electron transfer rate but also exposes more active sites, which could be greatly improve the stability and activity for electrochemical CO2 reduction. The N–C–CoPc NR exhibits an excellent overall current density of 30 mA/cm2 and a lower overpotential of 180 mV for CO2 reduction to CO in 0.1 M KHCO3 electrolyte, and the maximal faradaic efficiency for CO at −0.7 V vs RHE is 85.3% with an excellent stability. The theoretical calculations confirm that cobalt phthalocyanine is the dominating active center for intermediate *COOH formation as well as the CO desorption.