Efficient CO2 electroreduction to n-propanol on a matching cobalt phthalocyanine/copper tandem catalyst

Abstract

Electroreduction of CO₂ into n-propanol is a promising strategy to mitigate energy and environmental problems. However, achieving high selectivity of n-propanol at high current density remains a challenge. In this work, we report an efficient tandem catalyst by combining cobalt phthalocyanine coordinating with tetrahydrofuran (CoPc-THF) and CuO derived Cu (OD-Cu). The selectivity of n-propanol was enhanced over CoPc-THF/OD-Cu tandem catalysts, and the faradaic efficiency (FE) of n-propanol reached up to 16.8% with a current density of 170 mA cm⁻². It was demonstrated that CO₂ could be converted into CO over CoPc-THF with nearly 100% FE in a wide potential range, which enhances the CO coverage on OD-Cu at a high potential, resulting in high selectivity of n-propanol.