Nickel Doping in Atomically Thin Tin Disulfide Nanosheets Enables Highly Efficient CO2 Reduction

Engineering electronic properties by elemental doping is a direct strategy to design efficient catalysts towards CO2 electroreduction. Atomically thin SnS2 nanosheets were modified by Ni doping for efficient electroreduction of CO2 . The introduction of Ni into SnS2 nanosheets significantly enhanced the current density and Faradaic efficiency for carbonaceous product relative to pristine SnS2 nanosheets. When the Ni content was 5 atm %, the Ni-doped SnS2 nanosheets achieved a remarkable Faradaic efficiency of 93 % for carbonaceous product with a current density of 19.6 mA cm-2 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 SnS2 nanosheets, resulting in the promoted CO2 activation and thus improved performance in CO2 electroreduction.