Steering the Reaction Pathway of CO2 Electroreduction by Tuning the Coordination Number of Copper Catalysts.

Cu-based catalysts are optimal for the electroreduction of CO2 to generate hydrocarbon products. However, controlling product distribution remains a challenging topic. The theoretical investigations have revealed that the coordination number (CN) of Cu considerably influences the adsorption energy of *CO intermediates, thereby affecting the reaction pathway. Cu catalysts with different CNs were fabricated by reducing CuO precursors via cyclic voltammetry (Cyc-Cu), potentiostatic electrolysis (Pot-Cu), and pulsed electrolysis (Pul-Cu), respectively. High-CN Cu catalysts predominantly generate C2+ products, while low-CN Cu favors CH4 production. For instance, over the high-CN Pot-Cu, C2+ is the main product, with the Faradaic efficiency (FE) reaching 82.5% and a partial current density (j) of 514.3 mA cm-2. Conversely, the low-CN Pul(3)-Cu favors the production of CH4, achieving the highest FECH4 value of 56.7% with a jCH4 value of 234.4 mA cm-2. In situ X-ray absorption spectroscopy and Raman spectroscopy studies further confirm the different *CO adsorptions over Cu catalysts with different CN, thereby directing the reaction pathway of the CO2RR.

Polymer Modification Strategy to Modulate Reaction Microenvironment for Enhanced CO2 Electroreduction to Ethylene.

Modulation of the microenvironment on the electrode surface is one of the effective means to improve the efficiency of electrocatalytic carbon dioxide reduction (eCO2 RR). To achieve high conversion rates, the phase boundary at the electrode surface should be finely controlled to overcome the limitation of CO2 solubility in the aqueous electrolyte. Herein, we developed a simple and efficient method to structure electrocatalyst with a superhydrophobic surface microenvironment by one-step co-electrodeposition of Cu and polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) on carbon paper. The super-hydrophobic Cu-based electrode displayed a high ethylene (C2 H4 ) selectivity with a Faraday efficiency (FE) of 67.3 % at -1.25 V vs. reversible hydrogen electrode (RHE) in an H-type cell, which is 2.5 times higher than a regular Cu electrode without PTFE. By using PTFE as a surface modifier, the activity of eCO2 RR is enhanced and water (proton) adsorption is inhibited. This strategy has the potential to be applied to other gas-conversion electrocatalysts.

Lattice Strain Engineering Boosts CO2 Electroreduction to C2+ Products.

Regulating the binding effect between the surface of an electrode material and reaction intermediates is essential in highly efficient CO2 electro-reduction to produce high-value multicarbon (C2+) compounds. Theoretical study reveals that lattice tensile strain in single-component Cu catalysts can reduce the dipole-dipole repulsion between *CO intermediates and promotes *OH adsorption, and the high *CO and *OH coverage decreases the energy barrier for C-C coupling. In this work, Cu catalysts with varying lattice tensile strain were fabricated by electro-reducing CuO precursors with different crystallinity, without adding any extra components. The as-prepared single-component Cu catalysts were used for CO2 electro-reduction, and it is discovered that the lattice tensile strain in Cu could enhance the Faradaic efficiency (FE) of C2+ products effectively. Especially, the as-prepared CuTPA catalyst with high lattice tensile strain achieves a FEC2+ of 90.9% at -1.25 V vs. RHE with a partial current density of 486.1 mA cm-2.

Cooperation of Different Active Sites to Promote CO2 Electroreduction to Multi-carbon Products at Ampere-Level.

Electroreduction of CO2 to C2+ products provides a promising strategy for reaching the goal of carbon neutrality. However, achieving high selectivity of C2+ products at high current density remains a challenge. In this work, we designed and prepared a multi-sites catalyst, in which Pd was atomically dispersed in Cu (Pd-Cu). It was found that the Pd-Cu catalyst had excellent performance for producing C2+ products from CO2 electroreduction. The Faradaic efficiency (FE) of C2+ products could be maintained at approximately 80.8 %, even at a high current density of 0.8 A cm-2 for at least 20 hours. In addition, the FE of C2+ products was above 70 % at 1.4 A cm-2. Experiments and density functional theory (DFT) calculations revealed that the catalyst had three distinct catalytic sites. These three active sites allowed for efficient conversion of CO2, water dissociation, and CO conversion, ultimately leading to high yields of C2+ products.

Switching between C2+ Products and CH4 in CO2 Electrolysis by Tuning the Composition and Structure of Rare-Earth/Copper Catalysts.

Rational regulation of the reaction pathway to produce the desired products is one of the most significant challenges in the electrochemical CO2 reduction reaction (CO2RR). Herein, we designed a series of rare-earth Cu catalysts with mixed phases. It was found that the products could be switched from C2+ to CH4 by tuning the composition and structure of the catalysts. Particularly at the Cu/Sm atomic ratio of 9/1 (Cu9Sm1-Ox), the Faradaic efficiency (FE) for C2+ products (FEC2+) could reach 81% at 700 mA cm-2 with negligible CH4. However, the FE of CH4 (FECH4) was 65% at 500 mA cm-2 over Cu1Sm9-Ox (Cu/Sm = 1/9), and the FEC2+ was extremely low. Experiments and theoretical studies indicated that the stable CuSm2O4 phase existed in all the catalysts within the Cu/Sm range of 9/1 to 1/9. At a high Cu content, the catalyst was composed of CuSm2O4 and Cu phases. The small amount of Sm could enhance the binding strength of *CO and facilitate C-C coupling. Conversely, at a high Sm content, the catalyst was composed of CuSm2O4 and Sm2O3 phases. Sm could effectively stabilize bivalent Cu and enrich proton donors, lowering the reaction energy of *CO for deep hydrogenation to generate CH4. In both pathways, the stable CuSm2O4 phase could cooperate with the Cu or Sm2O3 phases, which induced the formation of different microenvironments to generate different products. This strategy also had commonality with other Cu-rare-earth (La, Pr, and Eu) catalysts to boost the CO2RR for C2+ or CH4 production.

Ternary Ionic-Liquid-Based Electrolyte Enables Efficient Electro-reduction of CO2 over Bulk Metal Electrodes.

Using bulk metals as catalysts to get high efficiency in electro-reduction of CO2 is ideal but challenging. Here, we report the coupling of bulk metal electrodes and a ternary ionic-liquid-based electrolyte, 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium tetrafluoroborate/1-dodecyl-3-methylimidazolium tetrafluoroborate/MeCN to realize highly efficient electro-reduction of CO2 to CO. Over various bulk metal electrodes, the ternary electrolyte not only increases the current density but also suppresses the hydrogen evolution reaction to obtain a high Faradaic efficiency (FE) toward CO. FECO could maintain ∼100% over a wide potential range, and metal electrodes showed very high stability in the ternary electrolyte. It is demonstrated that the aggregation behavior of the ternary electrolyte and the arrangement of two kinds of IL cations with different chain lengths in the electrochemical double layer not only increase the wettability to electrode and CO2 adsorption but also extend the diffusion channel of H+, rendering the high current density and FECO.

Adjacent Copper Single Atoms Promote C-C Coupling in Electrochemical CO2 Reduction for the Efficient Conversion of Ethanol.

The electrochemical CO2 reduction reaction (CO2RR) using renewable electricity is one of the most promising strategies for reaching the goal of carbon neutrality. Multicarbonous (C2+) products have broad applications, and ethanol is a valuable chemical and fuel. Many Cu-based catalysts have been reported to be efficient for the electrocatalytic CO2RR to C2+ products, but they generally offer limited selectivity and current density toward ethanol. Herein, we proposed a silica-mediated hydrogen-bonded organic framework (HOF)-templated approach to preparing ultrahigh-density Cu single-atom catalysts (SACs) on thin-walled N-doped carbon nanotubes (TWN). The content of Cu in the catalysts prepared by this method could be up to 13.35 wt %. It was found that the catalysts showed outstanding performance for the electrochemical CO2RR to ethanol, and the Faradaic efficiency (FE) of ethanol increased with the increase in Cu-N3 site density. The FE of ethanol over the catalysts with 13.35 wt % Cu could reach ∼81.9% with a partial current density of 35.6 mA cm-2 using an H-type cell, which is the best result for electrochemical CO2RR to ethanol to date. In addition, the catalyst could be stably used for more than 25 h. Experimental and density functional theory (DFT) studies revealed that the adjacent Cu-N3 active sites (one Cu atom coordinates with three N) were the active sites for the reaction, and their high density was crucial for the high FE of ethanol because the adjacent Cu-N3 sites with a short distance could promote the C-C coupling synergistically.

Hierarchical Metal-Polymer Hybrids for Enhanced CO2 Electroreduction.

The design of catalysts with high activity, selectivity, and stability is key to the electroreduction of CO2 . Herein, we report the synthesis of 3D hierarchical metal/polymer-carbon paper (M/polymer-CP) electrodes by in situ electrosynthesis. The 3D polymer layer on CP (polymer-CP) was first prepared by in situ electropolymerization, then a 3D metal layer was decorated on the polymer-CP to produce the M/polymer-CP electrode. Electrodes with different metals (e.g. Cu, Pd, Zn, Sn) and various polymers could be prepared by this method. The electrodes could efficiently reduce CO2 to desired products, such as C2 H4 , CO, and HCOOH, depending on the metal used. For example, C2 H4 could be formed with a Faradaic efficiency of 59.4 % and a current density of 30.2 mA cm-2 by using a very stable Cu/PANI-CP electrode in an H-type cell. Control experiments and theoretical calculations showed that the 3D hierarchical structure of the metals and in situ formation of the electrodes are critical for the excellent performance.

Photo-thermal coupling to enhance CO2 hydrogenation toward CH4 over Ru/MnO/Mn3O4.

Upcycling of CO2 into fuels by virtually unlimited solar energy provides an ultimate solution for addressing the substantial challenges of energy crisis and climate change. In this work, we report an efficient nanostructured Ru/MnOx catalyst composed of well-defined Ru/MnO/Mn3O4 for photo-thermal catalytic CO2 hydrogenation to CH4, which is the result of a combination of external heating and irradiation. Remarkably, under relatively mild conditions of 200 °C, a considerable CH4 production rate of 166.7 mmol g-1 h-1 was achieved with a superior selectivity of 99.5% at CO2 conversion of 66.8%. The correlative spectroscopic and theoretical investigations suggest that the yield of CH4 is enhanced by coordinating photon energy with thermal energy to reduce the activation energy of reaction and promote formation of key intermediate COOH* species over the catalyst. This work opens up a new strategy for CO2 hydrogenation toward CH4.

Enhancing C2+ product selectivity in CO2 electroreduction by enriching intermediates over carbon-based nanoreactors.

Electrochemical CO2 reduction reaction (CO2RR) to multicarbon (C2+) products faces challenges of unsatisfactory selectivity and stability. Guided by finite element method (FEM) simulation, a nanoreactor with cavity structure can facilitate C-C coupling by enriching *CO intermediates, thus enhancing the selectivity of C2+ products. We designed a stable carbon-based nanoreactor with cavity structure and Cu active sites. The unique geometric structure endows the carbon-based nanoreactor with a remarkable C2+ product faradaic efficiency (80.5%) and C2+-to-C1 selectivity (8.1) during the CO2 electroreduction. Furthermore, it shows that the carbon shell could efficiently stabilize and highly disperse the Cu active sites for above 20 hours of testing. A remarkable C2+ partial current density of-323 mA cm-2 was also achieved in a flow cell device. In situ Raman spectra and density functional theory (DFT) calculation studies validated that the *COatop intermediates are concentrated in the nanoreactor, which reduces the free energy of C-C coupling. This work unveiled a simple catalyst design strategy that would be applied to improve C2+ product selectivity and stability by rationalizing the geometric structures and components of catalysts.

Highly Stable Layered Coordination Polymer Electrocatalyst toward Efficient CO2 -to-CH4 Conversion.

Cu2+ -based materials, a class of promising catalysts for the electrocatalytic carbon dioxide reduction reaction (CO2 RR) to value-added chemicals, usually undergo inevitable and uncontrollable reorganization processes during the reaction, resulting in catalyst deactivation or the new active sites formation and bringing great challenges to exploring their structure-performance relationships. Herein, a facile strategy is reported for constructing Cu2+ and 3, 4-ethylenedioxythiophene (EDOT) coordination to stabilize Cu2+ ions to prepare a novel layered coordination polymer (CuPEDOT). CuPEDOT enables selective reduction of CO2 to CH4 with 62.7% Faradaic efficiency at the current density of 354 mA cm-2 in a flow cell, and the catalyst is stable for at least 15 h. In situ spectroscopic characterization and theoretical calculations reveal that CuPEDOT catalyst can maintain the Cu2+ -EDOT coordination structurally stable in CO2 RR and significantly promote the further hydrogenation of *CO intermediates, favoring the formation of CH4 instead of dimerization to C2 products. The strong coordination between EDOT and Cu2+ prevents the reduction of Cu2+ ions during CO2 RR. The finding of this work provides a new perspective on designing molecularly stable, highly active catalysts for CO2 RR.

Construction of 3D copper-chitosan-gas diffusion layer electrode for highly efficient CO2 electrolysis to C2+ alcohols.

High-rate electrolysis of CO2 to C2+ alcohols is of particular interest, but the performance remains far from the desired values to be economically feasible. Coupling gas diffusion electrode (GDE) and 3D nanostructured catalysts may improve the efficiency in a flow cell of CO2 electrolysis. Herein, we propose a route to prepare 3D Cu-chitosan (CS)-GDL electrode. The CS acts as a "transition layer" between Cu catalyst and the GDL. The highly interconnected network induces growth of 3D Cu film, and the as-prepared integrated structure facilitates rapid electrons transport and mitigates mass diffusion limitations in the electrolysis. At optimum conditions, the C2+ Faradaic efficiency (FE) can reach 88.2% with a current density (geometrically normalized) as high as 900 mA cm-2 at the potential of -0.87 V vs. reversible hydrogen electrode (RHE), of which the C2+ alcohols selectivity is 51.4% with a partial current density of 462.6 mA cm-2, which is very efficient for C2+ alcohols production. Experimental and theoretical study indicates that CS induces growth of 3D hexagonal prismatic Cu microrods with abundant Cu (111)/Cu (200) crystal faces, which are favorable for the alcohol pathway. Our work represents a novel example to design efficient GDEs for electrocatalytic CO2 reduction (CO2RR).

Ultra-fast synthesis of three-dimensional porous Cu/Zn heterostructures for enhanced carbon dioxide electroreduction.

The construction of metal hetero-interfaces has great potential in the application of electro-catalytic carbon dioxide reduction (ECR). Herein, we report a fast, efficient, and simple electrodeposition strategy for synthesizing three-dimensional (3D) porous Cu/Zn heterostructures using the hydrogen bubble template method. When the deposition was carried out at -1.0 A for 30 s, the obtained 3D porous Cu/Zn heterostructures on carbon paper (CP) demonstrated a nearly 100% CO faradaic efficiency (FE) with a high partial current density of 91.8 mA cm-2 at -2.1 V vs. Ag/Ag+ in the mixed electrolyte of ionic liquids/acetonitrile in an H-type cell. In particular, the partial current density of CO could reach 165.5 mA cm-2 and the FE of CO could remain as high as 94.3% at -2.5 V vs. Ag/Ag+. The current density is much higher than most reported to date in an H-type cell (Table S1). Experimental and density functional theory (DFT) calculations reveal that the outstanding electrocatalytic performance of the electrode can be ascribed to the formation of 3D porous Cu/Zn heterostructures, in which the porous and self-supported architecture facilitates diffusion and the Cu/Zn heterostructures can reduce the energy barrier for ECR to CO.

Optimizing copper nanoparticles with a carbon shell for enhanced electrochemical CO2 reduction to ethanol.

The electrochemical reduction of carbon dioxide (CO2RR) holds great promise for sustainable energy utilization and combating global warming. However, progress has been impeded by challenges in developing stable electrocatalysts that can steer the reaction toward specific products. This study proposes a carbon shell coating protection strategy by an efficient and straightforward approach to prevent electrocatalyst reconstruction during the CO2RR. Utilizing a copper-based metal-organic framework as the precursor for the carbon shell, we synthesized carbon shell-coated electrocatalysts, denoted as Cu-x-y, through calcination in an N2 atmosphere (where x and y represent different calcination temperatures and atmospheres: N2, H2, and NH3). It was found that the faradaic efficiency of ethanol over the catalysts with a carbon shell could reach ∼67.8%. In addition, the catalyst could be stably used for more than 16 h, surpassing the performance of Cu-600-H2 and Cu-600-NH3. Control experiments and theoretical calculations revealed that the carbon shell and Cu-C bonds played a pivotal role in stabilizing the catalyst, tuning the electron environment around Cu atoms, and promoting the formation and coupling process of CO*, ultimately favoring the reaction pathway leading to ethanol formation. This carbon shell coating strategy is valuable for developing highly efficient and selective electrocatalysts for the CO2RR.

Selective photocatalytic aerobic oxidation of methane into carbon monoxide over Ag/AgCl@SiO2.

Design of active catalysts for chemical utilization of methane under mild conditions is of great importance, but remains a challenging task. Here, we prepared a Ag/AgCl with SiO2 coating (Ag/AgCl@SiO2) photocatalyst for methane oxidation to carbon monoxide. High carbon monoxide production (2.3 µmol h-1) and high selectivity (73%) were achieved. SiO2 plays a key role in the superior performance by increasing the lifetime of the photogenerated charge carriers. Based on a set of semi in situ infrared spectroscopy, electron paramagnetic resonance, and electronic property characterization studies, it is revealed that CH4 is effectively and selectively oxidized to CO by the in situ formation of singlet 1O2 via the key intermediate of COOH*. Further study showed that the Ag/AgCl@SiO2 catalyst could also drive valuable conversion using real sunlight under ambient conditions. As far we know, this is the first work on the application of SiO2 modified Ag/AgCl in the methane oxidation reaction.

Preparation of trimetallic electrocatalysts by one-step co-electrodeposition and efficient CO2 reduction to ethylene.

Use of multi-metallic catalysts to enhance reactions is an interesting research area, which has attracted much attention. In this work, we carried out the first work to prepare trimetallic electrocatalysts by a one-step co-electrodeposition process. A series of Cu-X-Y (X and Y denote different metals) catalysts were fabricated using this method. It was found that Cu10La1Cs1 (the content ratio of Cu2+, La3+, and Cs+ in the electrolyte is 10 : 1 : 1 in the deposition process), which had an elemental composition of Cu10La0.16Cs0.14 in the catalyst, formed a composite structure on three dimensional (3D) carbon paper (CP), which showed outstanding performance for CO2 electroreduction reaction (CO2RR) to produce ethylene (C2H4). The faradaic efficiency (FE) of C2H4 could reach 56.9% with a current density of 37.4 mA cm-2 in an H-type cell, and the partial current density of C2H4 was among the highest ones up to date, including those over the catalysts consisting of Cu and noble metals. Moreover, the FE of C2+ products (C2H4, ethanol, and propanol) over the Cu10La1Cs1 catalyst in a flow cell reached 70.5% with a high current density of 486 mA cm-2. Experimental and theoretical studies suggested that the doping of La and Cs into Cu could efficiently enhance the reaction efficiency via a combination of different effects, such as defects, change of electronic structure, and enhanced charge transfer rate. This work provides a simple method to prepare multi-metallic catalysts and demonstrates a successful example for highly efficient CO2RR using non-noble metals.

Photocatalytic Cleavage of C(sp3 )-N Bond in Trialkylamines to Dialkylamines and Olefins.

Development of a new and green strategy for C(sp3 )-N bond cleavage is very interesting. Herein, photocatalytic cleavage of the C(sp3 )-N bond of trialkylamines was achieved, with concurrent formation of dialkylamines and olefins. It was found that a rationally designed 2D-Bi2 WO6 @1D-LaPO4 heterostructure was very efficient for the reaction due to its high light collection efficiency and unique catalytic properties. The strategy could be used for different trialkylamines, including triethylamine, tri-n-propylamine, and ethyl-di-isopropylamine. The mechanistic investigation indicated that the catalyst with heterostructure was not only favorable for charge carrier separation but also rendered excited electrons with high reduction capacity. This work opens a way for C(sp3 )-N bond cleavage of trialkylamines.

Low temperature methanation of CO2 over an amorphous cobalt-based catalyst.

CO2 methanation is an important reaction in CO2 valorization. Because of the high kinetic barriers, the reaction usually needs to proceed at higher temperature (>300 °C). High-efficiency CO2 methanation at low temperature (<200 °C) is an interesting topic, and only several noble metal catalysts were reported to achieve this goal. Currently, design of cheap metal catalysts that can effectively accelerate this reaction at low temperature is still a challenge. In this work, we found that the amorphous Co-Zr0.1-B-O catalyst could catalyze the reaction at above 140 °C. The activity of the catalyst at 180 °C reached 10.7 mmolCO2 gcat -1 h-1, which is comparable to or even higher than that of some noble metal catalysts under similar conditions. The Zr promoter in this work had the highest promoting factor to date among the catalysts for CO2 methanation. As far as we know, this is the first report of an amorphous transition metal catalyst that could effectively accelerate CO2 methanation. The outstanding performance of the catalyst could be ascribed to two aspects. The amorphous nature of the catalyst offered abundant surface defects and intrinsic active sites. On the other hand, the Zr promoter could enlarge the surface area of the catalyst, enrich the Co atoms on the catalyst surface, and tune the valence state of the atoms at the catalyst surface. The reaction mechanism was proposed based on the control experiments.

Synthesis of 3D flower-like structured Gd/TiO2@rGO nanocomposites via a hydrothermal method with enhanced visible-light photocatalytic activity.

In this study, novel Gd/TiO2@rGO (GTR) nanocomposites with high photocatalytic performance were fabricated via a one-pot solvothermal approach. During the preparation step, graphene oxide (GO) was reduced to reduced graphene oxide (rGO), and subsequently, on the surfaces of which anatase TiO2 doped with Gd metal was grown in situ with a 3D petal-like structure. Gd doping into the classical TiO2@rGO system efficiently expands the absorption range of light, improves the separation of photogenerated electrons, and increases the photocatalytic reaction sites. The specific surface areas, morphological structures, and valence and conduction bands of the obtained GTR nanocomposites were analyzed and correlated with their enhanced photocatalytic performances for the degradation of an aqueous RhB solution. The experimental results indicated that the best performance was achieved with the 3% GTR composite, which exhibited the highest photoelectrocatalytic activity because of two aspects: the rapid separation of electrons and holes, and improvement in adsorption capacity. As compared with pure TiO2, the GTR composites demonstrated enhanced photoactivity due to synergetic effects between the effective photo-induced electron transfer from TiO2 to the surface of the rGO acceptor through interfacial interactions and the variation of structure and electrons under the adoption of Gd.

Synthesis and photocatalytic properties of visible-light-responsive, three-dimensional, flower-like La-TiO2/g-C3N4 heterojunction composites.

We prepared a new three-dimensional, flower-like La-TiO2/g-C3N4 (LaTiCN) heterojunction photocatalyst using a solvothermal method. Analysis and characterization were performed by conducting scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, Fourier transform-infrared spectroscopy, ultraviolet-visible spectrophotometry, and nitrogen adsorption and desorption. The prepared g-C3N4 nanosheets could reach 100 nm in size and covered the TiO2 surface. A tightly bound interface formed between the g-C3N4 and TiO2, speeding up the effective transfer of photo-induced electrons. In addition, the incorporation of La3+ reduced the electron-hole recombination efficiency. Consequently, the prepared La-TiO2/g-C3N4 composite material exhibited better visible-light catalytic activity than pure TiO2.