Hetero-Interfaces on Cu Electrode for Enhanced Electrochemical Conversion of CO2 to Multi-Carbon Products
Xiaotong Li, Jianghao Wang, Xiangzhou Lv, Yue Yang, Yifei Xu, Qian Liu, Hao Bin Wu
Abstract
Abstract Electrochemical CO 2 reduction reaction (CO 2 RR) to multi-carbon products would simultaneously reduce CO 2 emission and produce high-value chemicals. Herein, we report Cu electrodes modified by metal–organic framework (MOF) exhibiting enhanced electrocatalytic performance to convert CO 2 into ethylene and ethanol. The Zr-based MOF, UiO-66 would in situ transform into amorphous ZrO x nanoparticles (a-ZrO x ), constructing a-ZrO x /Cu hetero-interface as a dual-site catalyst. The Faradaic efficiency of multi-carbon (C2+) products for optimal UiO-66-coated Cu (0.5-UiO/Cu) electrode reaches a high value of 74% at − 1.05 V versus RHE. The intrinsic activity for C2+ products on 0.5-UiO/Cu electrode is about two times higher than that of Cu foil. In situ surface-enhanced Raman spectra demonstrate that UiO-66-derived a-ZrO x coating can promote the stabilization of atop-bound CO* intermediates on Cu surface during CO 2 electrolysis, leading to increased CO* coverage and facilitating the C–C coupling process. The present study gives new insights into tailoring the adsorption configurations of CO 2 RR intermediate by designing dual-site electrocatalysts with hetero-interfaces.