Nitrogen-doped graphenes as efficient electrocatalysts for the selective reduction of carbon dioxide to formate in aqueous solution

We report the first example of metal-free nitrogen-doped graphene-based materials for the electro-chemical reduction of CO2 to formate. The synthesized catalysts are highly active and stable in the electrocatalytic reduction of CO2 to formate in an aqueous electrolyte. The novel catalyst outperforms the prevalent noble metal electrodes, nanostructured metals and state-of-the-art metal-free electrocatalysts by achieving comparable selectivity of formate but with a much lower overpotential.