Attenuating metal-substrate conjugation in atomically dispersed nickel catalysts for electroreduction of CO to CO.

Abstract in brief

• This study introduces a method to improve nickel-based catalysts for converting CO to COOH by reducing the electron delocalization between the metal and the carbon support, which typically hinders CO activation.
• The researchers used cyano groups to modify the support, increasing the electron density at the nickel sites, which helps in better CO activation and results in higher catalytic performance, such as a high turnover frequency and over 90% Faradaic efficiency in different cell setups.
• Overall, the findings suggest that attenuating metal-support conjugation through organic functionalization is a promising strategy to enhance the efficiency of atomically dispersed metal catalysts for electrochemical CO reduction.]