Self‐Assembled Monolayer Interface with Reconstructed Hydrogen‐Bond Network for Enhanced CO<sub>2</sub> Electroreduction
Yuantao Wei, Jianrui Zhang, Boyang Li, Fuqing Yu, Mengyang Li, Yang Wang, Tianxi He, Jiexin Zhu, Shenghua Chen, Yaqiong Su, Shujiang Ding, Chunhui Xiao, Bao Yu Xia
Abstract
Abstract CO 2 electrolysis is a promising approach to reduce CO 2 emissions while achieving high‐value multi‐carbon (C 2+ ) products. Except for the key role of electrocatalyst for electrochemical CO 2 reduction reaction (CO 2 RR), Reaction microenvironment is another critical factor influencing catalytic performance for these catalysts. Herein, a self‐assembled monolayer (SAM) is proposed with reconstructed hydrogen‐bond network to form an efficient three‐phase interface that admins mass transport and ion‐electron transfer. This approach is realized by co‐assembly of the fluorinated SAM (F‐SAM) and siloxane on commercial Cu catalyst (Cu@F‐Si composite catalyst). Molecular dynamics simulations (MDS) and interfacial species analysis show that the F‐SAM effectively facilitates CO 2 mass transport, while the siloxane hydrogen bond network maintains an ideal H + /e − transfer pathway. Combined with density functional theory (DFT) calculations, this strategy reveals the mechanism by which optimizing *H/*CO coverage enhances C 2+ product selectivity. Ultimately, the Cu@F‐Si catalyst maintains a high current density of 502.5 mA cm −2 with over 85% C 2+ Faradaic efficiency (FE) and operates stably for more than 100 h at ≈300 mA cm −2 . This interface engineering strategy offers a promising solution for improving the efficiency of CO 2 RR, with broader applications in multiphase catalytic systems.