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

Author

Listed:
  • Yinchao Yao

    (School of Materials Science and Engineering, Beijing Institute of Technology)

  • Tong Shi

    (Zhejiang University
    Inner Mongolia University)

  • Wenxing Chen

    (School of Materials Science and Engineering, Beijing Institute of Technology)

  • Jiehua Wu

    (SINOPEC (Beijing) Research Institute of Chemical Industry Co., Ltd)

  • Yunying Fan

    (Kunming University of Science and Technology)

  • Yichun Liu

    (Kunming University of Science and Technology)

  • Liang Cao

    (Zhejiang University)

  • Zhuo Chen

    (School of Materials Science and Engineering, Beijing Institute of Technology)

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 and *CHO further support that the greatly increased selectivity of ethylene is attributed to the thiol-stabilized Cu(100). Our findings not only provide an effective strategy to design and construct Cu-based catalysts for highly selective CO2 to ethylene, but also offer deep insights into the mechanism of CO2 to ethylene.

Suggested Citation

  • Yinchao Yao & Tong Shi & Wenxing Chen & Jiehua Wu & Yunying Fan & Yichun Liu & Liang Cao & Zhuo Chen, 2024. "A surface strategy boosting the ethylene selectivity for CO2 reduction and in situ mechanistic insights," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 15(1), pages 1-10, December.
  • Handle: RePEc:nat:natcom:v:15:y:2024:i:1:d:10.1038_s41467-024-45704-2
    DOI: 10.1038/s41467-024-45704-2
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    References listed on IDEAS

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