View article

Electrochemical reduction of CO₂ represents a possible solution for transforming atmospheric CO₂ to value-added chemicals such as CO or hydrocarbons, but so far it has been hampered by the lack of suitable electrocatalysts. In this work, we design a type of organic-inorganic hybrid material by template-directed polymerization of cobalt phthalocyanine on carbon nanotubes for a high-performance CO₂ reduction reaction. Compared with molecular phthalocyanines, the polymeric form of phthalocyanines supported on the conductive scaffold exhibits an enlarged electrochemically active surface area and improved physical and chemical robustness. Experimental results show that our hybrid electrocatalyst can selectively reduce CO₂ to CO with a large faradic efficiency (∼90%), exceptional turnover frequency (4,900 hr⁻¹ at η = 0.5 V), and excellent long-term durability. These metrics are superior to those of most of …