Nickel Doping in Atomically Thin Tin Disulfide Nanosheets Enables Highly Efficient CO Reduction.

Engineering electronic properties by elemental doping is a direct strategy to design efficient catalysts towards CO electroreduction. Atomically thin SnS nanosheets were modified by Ni doping for efficient electroreduction of CO . The introduction of Ni into SnS nanosheets significantly enhanced the current density and Faradaic efficiency for carbonaceous product relative to pristine SnS nanosheets. When the Ni content was 5 atm %, the Ni-doped SnS nanosheets achieved a remarkable Faradaic efficiency of 93 % for carbonaceous product with a current density of 19.6 mA cm at -0.9 V vs. RHE. A mechanistic study revealed that the Ni doping gave rise to a defect level and lowered the work function of SnS nanosheets, resulting in the promoted CO activation and thus improved performance in CO electroreduction.