Title: Electrocatalytic reduction of CO2 to ethylene and ethanol through hydrogen-assisted C–C coupling over fluorine-modified copper

Authors: Wenchao Ma, Shunji Xie, Tongtong Liu, Qiyuan Fan, Jinyu Ye, Fanfei Sun, Zheng Jiang, Qinghong Zhang, Jun Cheng & Ye Wang

Abstract: Electrocatalytic reduction of CO₂ into multicarbon (C₂₊) products is a highly attractive route for CO₂ utilization; however, the yield of C₂₊ products remains low because of the limited C₂₊ selectivity at high CO₂ conversion rates. Here we report a fluorine-modified copper catalyst that exhibits an ultrahigh current density of 1.6 A cm⁻² with a C₂₊ (mainly ethylene and ethanol) Faradaic efficiency of 80% for electrocatalytic CO₂ reduction in a flow cell. The C_2–4 selectivity reaches 85.8% at a single-pass yield of 16.5%. We show a hydrogen-assisted C–C coupling mechanism between adsorbed CHO intermediates for C₂₊ formation. Fluorine enhances water activation, CO adsorption and hydrogenation of adsorbed CO to CHO intermediate that can readily undergo coupling. Our findings offer an opportunity to design highly active and selective CO₂ electroreduction catalysts with potential for practical application.

Full-Link: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41929-020-0450-0