High performance electrochemical CO₂ reduction over Pd decorated cobalt containing nitrogen doped carbon

Efficient electrocatalytic CO₂ reduction reaction (eCO₂RR) to various products, such as carbon monoxide (CO), is crucial for mitigating greenhouse gas emissions and enabling renewable energy storage. In this article, we introduce Pd nanoparticles which are deposited over in-house synthesized nitrogen doped tubular carbon (NC) whose ends are blocked with cobalt oxide (CoOx). This composite material is denoted as Pd@CoOx/NC. Among the series of synthesized electrocatalysts, the optimum ratio (Pd@CoOx/NC1) within this category exhibits exceptional performance, manifesting an 81% faradaic efficiency (FE) for CO generation which was quantitatively measured using a gas chromatograph. This remarkable efficiency can be attributed to several scientific factors. Firstly, the presence of Pd nanoparticles provides active sites for CO₂ reduction. Secondly, the NC offer enhanced electrical conductivity and facilitate charge transfer during the reaction. Thirdly, the CoOx capping at the ends of the NC serves to stabilize the catalyst, favoring the formation of CO. The remarkable selectivity of the catalyst is further confirmed by the qualitative CO detection method using PdCl₂ strips. Pd@CoOx/NC1 exhibits a high current density of 55 mA cm^-2 and a low overpotential of 251 mV, outperforming Pd decorated multiwalled carbon nanotubes (Pd@MWCNTs) which shows a higher overpotential of 481 mV. Pd@CoOx/NC1 shows long-term stability at different potentials and rapid reaction kinetics. These findings highlight Pd@CoOx/NC1 as promising CO₂ reduction catalysts, with implications for sustainable energy conversion techniques.