Carbon and silicon nanocages (C50 and Si50) as effective catalysts for CO2 reduction reaction

Abstract

Abstract Here, the possible mechanisms for CO2 reduction reaction to produce the CO, CH4, HCOOH, HCHO and CH3OH species on surfaces of carbon and silicon nanocages (C50 and Si50) as catalysts are examined. The Ni adoption effects of C50 and Si50 nanocages on their catalytic activity for CO2 reduction reaction are investigated. The overpotential of CO2 reduction reaction on Ni-C50 and Ni-Si50 nanocages are lower than corresponding values on various metal catalysts, significantly. The rate limiting step for CH4 and CH3OH production is the nanocage-*CO → nanocage-*CHO on Ni-C50 and Ni-Si50 nanocages. The Ni-Si50 nanocage has more negative ΔGreaction values than Ni-C50 nanocage to process the possible reaction steps of CO2 reduction. The overpotential for CH4 and CH3OH production are lower than HCOOH and HCHO creation on Ni-C50 and Ni-Si50 nanocages. The Ni-C50 and Ni-Si50 nanocages can catalyze the processes of CO2 reduction reaction through possible mechanisms with high efficiency.