A surface strategy boosting the ethylene selectivity for CO₂ reduction and in situ mechanistic insights.

ABSTRACT: Electrochemical reduction of carbon dioxide into ethylene, as opposed to traditional industrial methods, represents a more environmentally friendly and promising technical approach. However, achieving high activity of ethylene remains a huge challenge due to the numerous possible reaction pathways. Here, we construct a hierarchical nanoelectrode composed of CuO treated with dodecanethiol to achieve elevated ethylene activity with a Faradaic efficiency reaching 79.5%. Through on in situ investigations, it is observed that dodecanethiol modification not only facilitates CO₂ transfer and enhances *CO coverage on the catalyst surfaces, but also stabilizes Cu(100) facet. Density functional theory calculations of activation energy barriers of the asymmetrical C-C coupling between *CO

SUBMITTER: Yao Y 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10858863 | biostudies-literature | 2024 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature