Contact-electro-catalytic CO2 reduction from ambient air

Abstract Traditional catalytic techniques often encounter obstacles in the search for sustainable solutions for converting CO2 into value-added products because of their high energy consumption and expensive catalysts. Here, we introduce a novel contact-electro- catalysis approach for CO2 reduction reaction (CO2RR), achieving an exceptional CO Faradaic efficiency of 96.24%. The triboelectric nanogenerator (TENG) is made up of electrospun PVDF loaded with single Cu atoms-anchored polymeric carbon nitride (Cu-PCN) catalysts and quaternized cellulose nanofibers (CNF) with strong CO2 adsorption capabilities, allowing CO2RR even at extremely low CO2 concentrations in the ambient air. In compared to the state-of-the-art air-based CO2RR technologies, the contact-electro-catalysis induced CO production attains a record-breaking yield of 33 μmolg-1h-1. Mechanistic investigation shows that chemical adsorption between quaternized CNF and CO2 occurs, allowing for effective CO2 capture in low-concentration conditions. More intriguingly, the single-atom copper in Cu-PCN loaded on PVDF fibers can effectively enrich electrons in triboelectrification, promoting CO2RR. This ground-breaking technique provides a game-changing solution for significantly reducing airborne CO2 emissions while advancing chemical sustainability strategy.