Work

Heteroatomic Sites on Carbon: Thermal CO2 Activation and Transformation by Metal‐Free Catalysis

Year: 2025

Type: article

Abstract: Due to high thermal stability, the selective cleavage of the CO bond in CO2, catalyzed by heterogeneous catalysts, is quite challenging, especially in thermal catalytic areas. For the first time, metal‐free active sites for thermal CO2 activation and transformation are constructed on the nanocarbon surface in this work. The potential H‐assisted cleavage of the activated CO bond to produce CO on the metal‐free catalyst is predicted and further confirmed by its reduction using silane as a hydrogen resource. With in situ infrared spectroscopy and theoretical calculations, the evolution process of CO2 on the surficial N, B heteroatomic sites of the nanocarbon, providing valuable insights into the reaction mechanism of CO2 transformation is revealed. This unprecedented finding not only enhances the understanding of the metal‐free catalytic process for the selective cleavage of the CO bond in CO2 but also provides more opportunities for designing high‐efficiency, low‐cost, and scalable heterogeneous carbon‐based catalysts in thermal CO2 transformation processes.

Source: ChemSusChem

DOI: 10.1002/cssc.202501052