CO2 laser-induced porous carbon attached Bi2O3 as highly efficient catalyst for CO2 electroreduction to formate

Electrochemical reduction of carbon dioxide to high-value products is a promising strategy to achieve carbon neutrality, but is hindered by lacking of effective catalysts. Herein, a laser-induced mesoporous carbon (LPC) is quickly prepared by CO₂ laser etching commercial polyimide film (PI) without any templates, which proved an artificial support for Bi₂O₃. The well-defined porous structure and unique nitrogen doping structure synergistically improve the activity and stability of Bi₂O₃@LPC in catalyzing CO₂ electroreduction to formate. The as-made Bi₂O₃@LPC composite delivers a high faradaic efficiency of 98 % for formate at −150 mA cm⁻². DFT calculations reveal the graphitic N in PLC helps stabilize the oxidized state of bismuth under reduction potentials by forming a special N–O–Bi structure. This work provides a new idea for the designing of metal/carbon composite electrocatalysts with nitrogen doped carbon materials as supports.