Schottky Barrier Induced Coupled Interface of Electron-Rich N-Doped Carbon and Electron-Deficient Cu: In-Built Lewis Acid–Base Pairs for Highly Efficient CO2 Fixation

Abstract

Highly efficient fixation of CO 2 for the synthesis of useful organic carbonates has drawn much attention. The design of sustainable Lewis acid–base pairs, which has mainly relied on expensive organic ligands, is the key challenge in the activation of the substrate and CO 2 molecule. Here, we report the application of Mott–Schottky type nanohybrids composed of electron-deficient Cu and electron-rich N-doped carbon for CO 2 fixation. A ligand-free and additive-free method was used to boost the basicity of the carbon supports and the acidity of Cu by increasing the Schottky barrier at their boundary, mimicking the beneficial function of organic ligands acting as the Lewis acid and base in metal–organic frameworks (MOFs) or polymers and simultaneously avoiding the possible deactivation associated with the necessary stability of a heterogeneous catalyst. The optimal Cu/NC-0.5 catalyst exhibited a remarkably high turnover frequency (TOF) value of 615 h –1 at 80 °C, which is 10 times higher than that of the state-of-the-art metal-based heterogeneous catalysts in the literature.