Electrochemical reduction of CO2 in microspores

CO2 electroreduction was examined on high area nickel electrocatalysts supported on activated carbon fibers, which contain slit-shaped pores with widths on the order of nanometers. The current efficiency for CO2 reduction to CO reached values of 70%. In contrast, much smaller amounts of CO were generated for the same type of high area nickel catalyst supported on non-activated carbon fibers. The enhancement of the CO2 reduction selectivity with the microporous support is thought to include a nanospace effect, which gives rise to high pleasure-like effects at ambient pressure.