Favoring CO Intermediate Stabilization and Protonation by Crown Ether for CO2 Electromethanation in Acidic Media

The large-scale deployment of CO₂ electroreduction is hampered by deficient carbon utilization in neutral and alkaline electrolytes due to CO₂ loss into (bi)carbonates. Switching to acidic media mitigates carbonation, but suffers from low product selectivity because of hydrogen evolution. Here we report a crown ether decoration strategy on a Cu catalyst to enhance carbon utilization and selectivity of CO₂ methanation under acidic conditions. Macrocyclic 18-Crown-6 is found to enrich potassium cations near the Cu electrode surface, simultaneously enhancing the interfacial electric field to stabilize the *CO intermediate and accelerate water dissociation to boost *CO protonation. Remarkably, the mixture of 18-Crown-6 and Cu nanoparticles affords a CH₄ Faradaic efficiency of 51.2 % and a single pass carbon efficiency of 43.0 % toward CO₂ electroreduction in electrolyte with pH=2. This study provides a facile strategy to promote CH₄ selectivity and carbon utilization by modifying Cu catalysts with supramolecules.     

Electroreduction of CO2 on Single‐Site Copper‐Nitrogen‐Doped Carbon Material: Selective Formation of Ethanol and Reversible Restructuration of the Metal Sites

It is generally believed that CO₂ electroreduction to multi‐carbon products such as ethanol or ethylene may be catalyzed with significant yield only on metallic copper surfaces, implying large ensembles of copper atoms. Here, we report on an inexpensive Cu‐N‐C material prepared via a simple pyrolytic route that exclusively feature single copper atoms with a CuN₄ coordination environment, atomically dispersed in a nitrogen‐doped conductive carbon matrix. This material achieves aqueous CO₂ electroreduction to ethanol at a Faradaic yield of 55 % under optimized conditions (electrolyte: 0.1 m CsHCO₃, potential: ?1.2 V vs. RHE and gas‐phase recycling set up), as well as CO electroreduction to C₂‐products (ethanol and ethylene) with a Faradaic yield of 80 %. During electrolysis the isolated sites transiently convert into metallic copper nanoparticles, as shown by operando XAS analysis, which are likely to be the catalytically active species. Remarkably, this process is reversible and the initial material is recovered intact after electrolysis.     

Copper‐Bismuth Bimetallic Microspheres for Selective Electrocatalytic Reduction of CO2 to Formate

Electrocatalytic carbon dioxide reduction holds great promise for reducing the atmospheric CO₂ level and alleviating the energy crisis. High‐performance electrocatalysts are often required in order to lower the high overpotential and expedite the sluggish reaction kinetics of CO₂ electroreduction. Copper is a promising candidate metal. However, it usually suffers from the issues of poor stability and low product selectivity. In this work, bimetallic Cu‐Bi is obtained by reducing the microspherical copper bismuthate (CuBi₂O₄) for selectively catalyzing the CO₂ reduction to formate (HCOO^–). The bimetallic Cu‐Bi electrocatalyst exhibits high activity and selectivity with the Faradic efficiency over 90% in a wide potential window. A maximum Faradaic efficiency of ~95% is obtained at –0.93 V versus reversible hydrogen electrode. Furthermore, the catalyst shows high stability over 6 h with Faradaic efficiency of ~95%. This study provides an important clue in designing new functional materials for CO₂ electroreduction with high activity and selectivity.     

Regulation of Coordination Number over Single Co Sites: Triggering the Efficient Electroreduction of CO2

The design of active, selective, and stable CO₂ reduction electrocatalysts is still challenging. A series of atomically dispersed Co catalysts with different nitrogen coordination numbers were prepared and their CO₂ electroreduction catalytic performance was explored. The best catalyst, atomically dispersed Co with two‐coordinate nitrogen atoms, achieves both high selectivity and superior activity with 94 % CO formation Faradaic efficiency and a current density of 18.1 mA cm^?2 at an overpotential of 520 mV. The CO formation turnover frequency reaches a record value of 18 200 h^?1, surpassing most reported metal‐based catalysts under comparable conditions. Our experimental and theoretical results demonstrate that lower a coordination number facilitates activation of CO₂ to the CO₂^.? intermediate and hence enhances CO₂ electroreduction activity.     

Constructing low-valent Ni nanoparticles for highly selective CO2 reduction

The electroreduction of CO₂（CO₂RR） into value-added chemicals is a sustainable strategy for mitigating global warming and managing the global carbon balance. However, developing an efficient and selective catalyst is still the central challenge. Here, we developed a simple two-step pyrolysis method to confine low-valent Ni-based nanoparticles within nitrogen-doped carbon（Ni-NC）. As a result, such Ni-based nanoparticles can effectively reduce CO₂ to CO, with a max...     

Accelerated Transfer and Spillover of Carbon Monoxide through Tandem Catalysis for Kinetics-boosted Ethylene Electrosynthesis

Cu-based catalysts have been widely applied in electroreduction of carbon dioxide (CO₂ER) to produce multicarbon (C₂₊) feedstocks (e.g., C₂H₄). However, the high energy barriers for CO₂ activation on the Cu surface is a challenge for a high catalytic efficiency and product selectivity. Herein, we developed an in situ *CO generation and spillover strategy by engineering single Ni atoms on a pyridinic N-enriched carbon support with a sodalite (SOD) topology (Ni-SOD/NC) that acted as a donor to feed adjacent Cu nanoparticles (NPs) with *CO intermediate. As a result, a high C₂H₄ selectivity of 62.5 % and an industrial-level current density of 160 mA cm⁻² at a low potential of −0.72 V were achieved. Our studies revealed that the isolated NiN₃ active sites with adjacent pyridinic N species facilitated the *CO desorption and the massive *CO intermediate released from Ni-SOD/NC then overflowed to Cu NPs surface to enrich the *CO coverage for improving the selectivity of CO₂ER to C₂H₄.     

Enhanced Carbon Dioxide Electroreduction to Carbon Monoxide over Defect‐Rich Plasma‐Activated Silver Catalysts

Efficient, stable catalysts with high selectivity for a single product are essential if electroreduction of CO₂ is to become a viable route to the synthesis of industrial feedstocks and fuels. A plasma oxidation pre‐treatment of silver foil enhances the number of low‐coordinated catalytically active sites, which dramatically lowers the overpotential and increases the activity of CO₂ electroreduction to CO. At −0.6 V versus RHE more than 90 % Faradaic efficiency towards CO was achieved on a pre‐oxidized silver foil. While transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and operando X‐ray absorption spectroscopy showed that oxygen species can survive in the bulk of the catalyst during the reaction, quasi in situ X‐ray photoelectron spectroscopy showed that the surface is metallic under reaction conditions. DFT calculations reveal that the defect‐rich surface of the plasma‐oxidized silver foils in the presence of local electric fields drastically decrease the overpotential of CO₂ electroreduction.     

Electrocatalytic reduction of carbon dioxide over reduced nanoporous zinc oxide

Nanoporous zinc oxide (ZnO) is prepared by a hydrothermal method followed by thermal decomposition for electrocatalytic reduction of CO₂. In situ X-ray absorption spectroscopy results indicate that ZnO is reduced to Zn under the electrolysis conditions for catalyzing CO₂ electroreduction. The reduced nanoporous ZnO exhibits obviously higher CO Faradaic efficiency and current density than commercial Zn foil with a maximum CO Faradaic efficiency of 92.0%, suggesting that the nanoporous structure facilitates electrocatalytic reduction of CO₂ over reduced nanoporous ZnO, probably due to increased surface area and more coordination unsaturated surface atoms.     

Highly Selective Production of Ethylene by the Electroreduction of Carbon Monoxide

Conversion of carbon monoxide to high value‐added ethylene with high selectivity by traditional syngas conversion process is challenging because of the limitation of Anderson‐Schulz–Flory distribution. Herein we report a direct electrocatalytic process for highly selective ethylene production from CO reduction with water over Cu catalysts at room temperature and ambient pressure. An unprecedented 52.7 % Faradaic efficiency of ethylene formation is achieved through optimization of cathode structure to facilitate CO diffusion at the surface of the electrode and Cu catalysts to enhance the C?C bond coupling. The highly selective ethylene production is almost without other carbon‐based byproducts (e.g. C₁–C₄ hydrocarbons and CO₂) and avoids the drawbacks of the traditional Fischer–Tropsch process that always delivers undesired products. This study provides a new and promising strategy for highly selective production of ethylene from the abundant industrial CO.     

Selective CO2 Electroreduction to Ethylene and Multicarbon Alcohols via Electrolyte‐Driven Nanostructuring

Production of multicarbon products (C₂₊) from CO₂ electroreduction reaction (CO₂RR) is highly desirable for storing renewable energy and reducing carbon emission. The electrochemical synthesis of CO₂RR catalysts that are highly selective for C₂₊ products via electrolyte‐driven nanostructuring is presented. Nanostructured Cu catalysts synthesized in the presence of specific anions selectively convert CO₂ into ethylene and multicarbon alcohols in aqueous 0.1 m KHCO₃ solution, with the iodine‐modified catalyst displaying the highest Faradaic efficiency of 80 % and a partial geometric current density of ca. 31.2 mA cm^?2 for C₂₊ products at ?0.9 V vs. RHE. Operando X‐ray absorption spectroscopy and quasi in situ X‐ray photoelectron spectroscopy measurements revealed that the high C₂₊ selectivity of these nanostructured Cu catalysts can be attributed to the highly roughened surface morphology induced by the synthesis, presence of subsurface oxygen and Cu⁺ species, and the adsorbed halides.     

Transition Metal Nitrides as Promising Catalyst Supports for Tuning CO/H2 Syngas Production from Electrochemical CO2 Reduction

The electrochemical carbon dioxide reduction reaction (CO₂RR) to produce synthesis gas (syngas) with tunable CO/H₂ ratios has been studied by supporting Pd catalysts on transition metal nitride (TMN) substrates. Combining experimental measurements and density functional theory (DFT) calculations, Pd‐modified niobium nitride (Pd/NbN) is found to generate much higher CO and H₂ partial current densities and greater CO Faradaic efficiency than Pd‐modified vanadium nitride (Pd/VN) and commercial Pd/C catalysts. In‐situ X‐ray diffraction identifies the formation of PdH in Pd/NbN and Pd/C under CO₂RR conditions, whereas the Pd in Pd/VN is not fully transformed into the active PdH phase. DFT calculations show that the stabilized *HOCO and weakened *CO intermediates on PdH/NbN are critical to achieving higher CO₂RR activity. This work suggests that NbN is a promising substrate to modify Pd, resulting in an enhanced electrochemical conversion of CO₂ to syngas with a potential reduction in precious metal loading.     

MoP Nanoparticles Supported on Indium‐Doped Porous Carbon: Outstanding Catalysts for Highly Efficient CO2 Electroreduction

Electrochemical reduction of CO₂ into value‐added product is an interesting area. MoP nanoparticles supported on porous carbon were synthesized using metal–organic frameworks as the carbon precursor, and initial work on CO₂ electroreduction using the MoP‐based catalyst were carried out. It was discovered that MoP nanoparticles supported on In‐doped porous carbon had outstanding performance for CO₂ reduction to formic acid. The Faradaic efficiency and current density could reach 96.5 % and 43.8 mA cm^?2, respectively, when using ionic liquid 1‐butyl‐3‐methylimidazolium hexafluorophosphate as the supporting electrolyte. The current density is higher than those reported up to date with very high Faradaic efficiency. The MoP nanoparticles and the doped In₂O₃ cooperated very well in catalyzing the CO₂ electroreduction.     

Promoting CO2 Electroreduction to Multi-Carbon Products by Hydrophobicity-Induced Electro-Kinetic Retardation

Advancing the performance of the Cu-catalyzed electrochemical CO₂ reduction reaction (CO₂RR) is crucial for its practical applications. Still, the wettable pristine Cu surface often suffers from low exposure to CO₂, reducing the Faradaic efficiencies (FEs) and current densities for multi-carbon (C₂₊) products. Recent studies have proposed that increasing surface availability for CO₂ by cation-exchange ionomers can enhance the C₂₊ product formation rates. However, due to the rapid formation and consumption of *CO, such promotion in reaction kinetics can shorten the residence of *CO whose adsorption determines C₂₊ selectivity, and thus the resulting C₂₊ FEs remain low. Herein, we discover that the electro-kinetic retardation caused by the strong hydrophobicity of quaternary ammonium group-functionalized polynorbornene ionomers can greatly prolong the *CO residence on Cu. This unconventional electro-kinetic effect is demonstrated by the increased Tafel slopes and the decreased sensitivity of *CO coverage change to potentials. As a result, the strongly hydrophobic Cu electrodes exhibit C₂₊ Faradaic efficiencies of ≈90 % at a partial current density of 223 mA cm⁻², more than twice of bare or hydrophilic Cu surfaces.     

Metal‐Free Nitrogen‐Doped Mesoporous Carbon for Electroreduction of CO2 to Ethanol

CO₂ electroreduction is a promising technique for satisfying both renewable energy storage and a negative carbon cycle. However, it remains a challenge to convert CO₂ into C2 products with high efficiency and selectivity. Herein, we report a nitrogen‐doped ordered cylindrical mesoporous carbon as a robust metal‐free catalyst for CO₂ electroreduction, enabling the efficient production of ethanol with nearly 100 % selectivity and high faradaic efficiency of 77 % at −0.56 V versus the reversible hydrogen electrode. Experiments and density functional theory calculations demonstrate that the synergetic effect of the nitrogen heteroatoms and the cylindrical channel configurations facilitate the dimerization of key CO* intermediates and the subsequent proton–electron transfers, resulting in superior electrocatalytic performance for synthesizing ethanol from CO₂.     

Molecular Modification of Single Cobalt Sites Boosts the Catalytic Activity of CO2 Electroreduction into CO

Electroreduction of CO₂ into carbonaceous fuels or industrial chemicals using renewable energy sources is an ideal way to promote global carbon recycling. Thus, it is of great importance to develop highly selective, efficient, and stable catalysts. Herein, we prepared cobalt single atoms (Co SAs) coordinated with phthalocyanine (Co SAs-Pc). The anchoring of phthalocyanine with Co sites enabled electron transfer from Co sites to CO₂ effectively via the π-conjugated system, resulting in high catalytic performance of CO₂ electroreduction into CO. During the process of CO₂ electroreduction, the Faradaic efficiency (FE) of Co SAs-Pc for CO was as high as 94.8 %. Meanwhile, the partial current density of Co SAs-Pc for CO was −11.3 mA cm⁻² at −0.8 V versus the reversible hydrogen electrode (vs RHE), 18.83 and 2.86 times greater than those of Co SAs (−0.60 mA cm⁻²) and commercial Co phthalocyanine (−3.95 mA cm⁻²), respectively. In an H-cell system operating at −0.8 V vs RHE over 10 h, the current density and FE for CO of Co SAs-Pc dropped by 3.2 % and 2.5 %. A mechanistic study revealed that the promoted catalytic performance of Co SAs-Pc could be attributed to the accelerated reaction kinetics and facilitated CO₂ activation.     

Electrochemical Reduction of Carbon Dioxide to 1-Butanol on Oxide-Derived Copper

The electroreduction of carbon dioxide using renewable electricity is an appealing strategy for the sustainable synthesis of chemicals and fuels. Extensive research has focused on the production of ethylene, ethanol and n-propanol, but more complex C₄ molecules have been scarcely reported. Herein, we report the first direct electroreduction of CO₂ to 1-butanol in alkaline electrolyte on Cu gas diffusion electrodes (Faradaic efficiency=0.056 %, j_1-Butanol=−0.080 mA cm⁻² at −0.48 V vs. RHE) and elucidate its formation mechanism. Electrolysis of possible molecular intermediates, coupled with density functional theory, led us to propose that CO₂ first electroreduces to acetaldehyde-a key C₂ intermediate to 1-butanol. Acetaldehyde then undergoes a base-catalyzed aldol condensation to give crotonaldehyde via electrochemical promotion by the catalyst surface. Crotonaldehyde is subsequently electroreduced to butanal, and then to 1-butanol. In a broad context, our results point to the relevance of coupling chemical and electrochemical processes for the synthesis of higher molecular weight products from CO₂.     

Electrocatalytic CO2 Upgrading to Triethanolamine by Bromine-Assisted C2H4 Oxidation

The electrocatalytic carbon dioxide (CO₂) reduction is a promising approach for converting this greenhouse gas into value-added chemicals, while the capability of producing products with longer carbon chains (C_n>3) is limited. Herein, we demonstrate the Br-assisted electrocatalytic oxidation of ethylene (C₂H₄), a major CO₂ electroreduction product, into 2-bromoethanol by electro-generated bromine on metal phthalocyanine catalysts. Due to the preferential formation of Br₂ over *O or Cl₂ to activate the C=C bond, a high partial current density of producing 2-bromoethanol (46.6 mA⋅cm⁻²) was obtained with 87.2 % Faradaic efficiency. Further coupling with the electrocatalytic nitrite reduction to ammonia at the cathode allowed the production of triethanolamine with six carbon atoms. Moreover, by coupling a CO₂ electrolysis cell for in situ C₂H₄ generation and a C₂H₄ oxidation/nitrite reduction cell, the capability of upgrading of CO₂ and nitrite into triethanolamine was demonstrated.     

Single Atom Bi Decorated Copper Alloy Enables C−C Coupling for Electrocatalytic Reduction of CO2 into C2+ Products**

Single atom alloy (SAA) catalysts have been recently explored for promotion of various heterogeneous catalysis, but it remains unexplored for selective electrocatalytic reduction of carbon dioxide (CO₂) into multi-carbon (C₂₊) products involving C−C coupling. Herein we report a single-atomic Bi decorated Cu alloy (denoted as BiCu-SAA) electrocatalyst that could effectively modulate selectivity of CO₂ reduction into C₂₊ products instead of previous C₁ ones. The BiCu-SAA catalyst exhibits remarkably superior selectivity of C₂₊ products with optimal Faradaic efficiency (FE) of 73.4 % compared to the pure copper nanoparticle or Bi nanoparticles-decorated Cu nanocomposites, and its structure and performance can be well maintained at current density of 400 mA cm⁻² under the flow cell system. Based on our in situ characterizations and density functional theory calculations, the BiCu-SAA is found to favor the activation of CO₂ and subsequent C−C coupling during the electrocatalytic reaction, as should be responsible for its extraordinary C₂₊ selectivity.     

A Monolithically Integrated Gallium Nitride Nanowire/Silicon Solar Cell Photocathode for Selective Carbon Dioxide Reduction to Methane

A gallium nitride nanowire/silicon solar cell photocathode for the photoreduction of carbon dioxide (CO₂) is demonstrated. Such a monolithically integrated nanowire/solar cell photocathode offers several unique advantages, including the absorption of a large part of the solar spectrum and highly efficient carrier extraction. With the incorporation of copper as the co‐catalyst, the devices exhibit a Faradaic efficiency of about 19 % for the 8e^? photoreduction to CH₄ at ?1.4 V vs Ag/AgCl, a value that is more than thirty times higher than that for the 2e^? reduced CO (ca. 0.6 %).     

High-Curvature Transition-Metal Chalcogenide Nanostructures with a Pronounced Proximity Effect Enable Fast and Selective CO2 Electroreduction

A considerable challenge in the conversion of carbon dioxide into useful fuels comes from the activation of CO₂ to CO₂^.− or other intermediates, which often requires precious-metal catalysts, high overpotentials, and/or electrolyte additives (e.g., ionic liquids). We report a microwave heating strategy for synthesizing a transition-metal chalcogenide nanostructure that efficiently catalyzes CO₂ electroreduction to carbon monoxide (CO). We found that the cadmium sulfide (CdS) nanoneedle arrays exhibit an unprecedented current density of 212 mA cm⁻² with 95.5±4.0 % CO Faraday efficiency at −1.2 V versus a reversible hydrogen electrode (RHE; without iR correction). Experimental and computational studies show that the high-curvature CdS nanostructured catalyst has a pronounced proximity effect which gives rise to large electric field enhancement, which can concentrate alkali-metal cations resulting in the enhanced CO₂ electroreduction efficiency.