A Mn-N single-atom catalyst embedded in graphitic carbon nitride for efficient CO electroreduction.

Developing effective catalysts based on earth abundant elements is critical for CO electroreduction. However, simultaneously achieving a high Faradaic efficiency (FE) and high current density of CO (j) remains a challenge. Herein, we prepare a Mn single-atom catalyst (SAC) with a Mn-N site embedded in graphitic carbon nitride. The prepared catalyst exhibits a 98.8% CO FE with a j of 14.0 mA cm at a low overpotential of 0.44 V in aqueous electrolyte, outperforming all reported Mn SACs. Moreover, a higher j of 29.7 mA cm is obtained in an ionic liquid electrolyte at 0.62 V overpotential. In situ X-ray absorption spectra and density functional theory calculations demonstrate that the remarkable performance of the catalyst is attributed to the Mn-N site, which facilitates the formation of the key intermediate COOH through a lowered free energy barrier.