The Active Center of Co-N-C Electrocatalysts for the Selective Reduction of CO to CO Using a Nafion-H Electrolyte in the Gas Phase.

To contribute a solution for the global warming problem, the selective electrochemical reduction of CO to CO was studied in the gas phase using a [CO(g), Co-N-C cathode | Nafion-H | Pt/C anode, H/water] system without using carbonate solutions. The Co-N-C electrocatalysts were synthesized by partial pyrolysis of precursors in inert gas, which were prepared from various N-bidentate ligands, Co(NO), and Ketjenblack (KB). The most active electrocatalyst was Co-(4,4'-dimethyl-2,2'-bipyridine)/KB pyrolyzed at 673 K, denoted Co-4,4'-dmbpy/KB(673K).