Issue 27, 2024

Efficient CO2 electroreduction to ethanol enabled by tip-curvature-induced local electric fields

Abstract

Electrocatalytic reduction of CO2 into multicarbon (C2+) products offers a promising pathway for CO2 utilization. However, achieving high selectivity towards multicarbon alcohols, such as ethanol, remains a challenge. In this work, we present a novel CuO nanoflower catalyst with engineered tip curvature, achieving remarkable selectivity and efficiency in the electroreduction of CO2 to ethanol. This catalyst exhibits an ethanol faradaic efficiency (FEethanol) of 47% and a formation rate of 320 μmol h−1 cm−2, with an overall C2+ product faradaic efficiency (FEC2+) reaching ∼77.8%. We attribute this performance to the catalyst's sharp tip, which generates a strong local electric field, thereby accelerating CO2 activation and facilitating C–C coupling for deep CO2 reduction. In situ Raman spectroscopy reveals an increased *OH coverage under operating conditions, where the enhanced *OH adsorption facilitates the stabilization of *CHCOH intermediates through hydrogen bonding interaction, thus improving ethanol selectivity. Our findings demonstrate the pivotal role of local electric fields in altering reaction kinetics for CO2 electroreduction, presenting a new avenue for catalyst design aiming at converting CO2 to ethanol.

Graphical abstract: Efficient CO2 electroreduction to ethanol enabled by tip-curvature-induced local electric fields

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Paper
Submitted
18 Mar 2024
Accepted
14 Jun 2024
First published
20 Jun 2024

Nanoscale, 2024,16, 13011-13018

Efficient CO2 electroreduction to ethanol enabled by tip-curvature-induced local electric fields

J. Zhou, Q. Liang, P. Huang, J. Xu, T. Niu, Y. Wang, Y. Dong and J. Zhang, Nanoscale, 2024, 16, 13011 DOI: 10.1039/D4NR01173B

To request permission to reproduce material from this article, please go to the Copyright Clearance Center request page.

If you are an author contributing to an RSC publication, you do not need to request permission provided correct acknowledgement is given.

If you are the author of this article, you do not need to request permission to reproduce figures and diagrams provided correct acknowledgement is given. If you want to reproduce the whole article in a third-party publication (excluding your thesis/dissertation for which permission is not required) please go to the Copyright Clearance Center request page.

Read more about how to correctly acknowledge RSC content.

Social activity

Spotlight

Advertisements