Nitrogen-Doped Cellulose-Based Porous Carbon for Electrocatalytic CO₂ Reduction to CO

Carbon capture and conversion technology is the main method to reduce carbon dioxide emissions. Porous carbon with large surface area, excellent thermal stability and low-cost has a wide application potential in the field. In this study, nitrogen-doped porous carbon is prepared by hydrothermal carbonization and chemical activation with methyl cellulose and melamine as carbon precursor and nitrogen sources. The effects of activating agent and nitrogen-doping ratios on the structure and electrocatalytic reduction performance are studied. The sample prepared under optimized conditions has a specific surface area of 1417 m² g⁻¹, total pore volume of 0.9 cm³ g⁻¹, micropore volume of 0.36 cm³ g⁻¹, as well as abundant nitrogen active sites. It exhibits a high CO Faraday efficiency (91%) at overpotential of -0.61 V (vs. RHE), together with a good cycling of long-term stability.