Cyclic(Alkyl)(Amino)Carbene Stabilized Gold Nanoparticles: Efficient Catalyst for Selective Electrochemical Reduction of CO2 to CO

Electrochemical reduction of CO2 to value-added products is an important area for sustainable energy research. The nanomaterials offer a wide variety of catalysts for this task. In this work, we have synthesized an extremely electron-rich cyclic(alkyl)(amino)carbene (CAAC) stabilized gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) and utilized them for the electrochemical reduction of CO2. This newly prepared CAAC functionalized AuNP catalyst demonstrates a remarkable faradaic efficiency (FE) of 94% towards selective carbon monoxide (CO) formation (at pH 6.3, 2 hr of controlled potential electrolysis at -0.7 V vs NHE). Our results establish CAAC as a promising ligand for surface functionalization of AuNPs through the strong σ-donation, which enhances the electrocatalytic properties and set a platform for further developing persistent carbenes as the universal ligands.