Global S&T Development Trend Analysis Platform of Resources and Environment
The electrocatalytic reduction of carbon dioxide, powered by renewable electricity, to produce valuable fuels and feedstocks provides a sustainable and carbon-neutral approach to the storage of energy produced by intermittent renewable sources(1). However, the highly selective generation of economically desirable products such as ethylene from the carbon dioxide reduction reaction (CO2RR) remains a challenge(2). Tuning the stabilities of intermediates to favour a desired reaction pathway can improve selectivity(3-5), and this has recently been explored for the reaction on copper by controlling morphology(6), grain boundaries(7), facets(8), oxidation state(9) and dopants(10). Unfortunately, the Faradaic efficiency for ethylene is still low in neutral media (60 per cent at a partial current density of 7 milliamperes per square centimetre in the best catalyst reported so far(9)), resulting in a low energy efficiency. Here we present a molecular tuning strategy-the functionalization of the surface of electrocatalysts with organic molecules-that stabilizes intermediates for more selective CO2RR to ethylene. Using electrochemical, operando/in situ spectroscopic and computational studies, we investigate the influence of a library of molecules, derived by electro-dimerization of arylpyridiniums(11), adsorbed on copper. We find that the adhered molecules improve the stabilization of an '
Electrocatalytic reduction of CO2 over copper can be made highly selective by '