Gram-scale synthesis of Ni-Zn diatomic sites catalyst for efficient electrochemical CO2 reduction.

• A novel gram-scale (around 1.66 g) diatomic sites catalyst CN-NiZn is synthesized. • The NiN 3 /ZnN 3 sites of CN-NiZn own synergistic effect for converting CO 2 to CO. • CN-NiZn shows over 92 % FE CO from −0.57 to −1.07 V, especially 97.5 % FE CO at −0.77 V. • CN-NiZn can maintain FE CO of exceeding 90 % at −0.77 V during 30 h of electrolysis. Diatomic catalysts inherit the advantages of single atom catalysts and use the adjacent metal-N sites for functional complementary and synergistic effects in electrochemical CO 2 reduction (ECR). However, preparation of diatomic catalysts with high yield, Faradaic efficiency and stability together with low overpotential still remains challenging. In this work, we develop a nitrogen-doped carbon supported Ni-Zn diatomic catalyst, whose CO Faradaic efficiency of is higher than 92.0 % in the wide potential range of −0.57 ∼ −1.07 V vs RHE, and the maximum CO Faradaic efficiency is 97.5 % at −0.77 V vs RHE. And also, CN-NiZn performs an extraordinary stability for 30 h in the long-time durability test. More importantly, large-quantities (around 1.66 g) of Ni-Zn diatomic catalysts with remarkable catalytic performance can be prepared by this method. Synchrotron radiation X-ray absorption spectroscopy was tested to reflect the coordination environment and valence states around Ni and Zn atoms. Theoretical calculations further reveal that the synergistic effect between Ni and Zn binary metal sites largely reduces the energy barrier of the reaction to produce the intermediate *COOH, thus effectively increasing the selectivity of ECR. This work indicates that the introduction of another coordination metal can significantly affect the electronic structure of monatomic catalysts, thus improving the electrocatalytic activity and selectivity of ECR. [Display omitted] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]