S‐Vacancy‐Induced “Proton Fence Effect” Enables Selectivity Switching between CH <sub>4</sub> and CO in Photo‐Assisted CO <sub>2</sub> Electroreduction
Abstract Upcycling CO 2 into high‐value C 1 products is impressive for achieving carbon neutrality and energy sustainability, while rational modulation of C 1 product selectivity is one of the biggest challenges in electrocatalytic CO 2 reduction reaction (eCO 2 RR) due to the competing reaction pathways and thermodynamic limitation. Here, we showcase a “proton fence” strategy enabled by in situ adsorbed *OH on sulfur vacancies (S V ) to ultraselectively switch the C 1 product between CH 4 and CO during CO 2 RR, with Faraday efficiency of 93.6% and 95.3%, respectively. In situ measurements uncover that the photo‐generated holes counteract Cu 2+ electroreduction to retain the intact structure of CuInS 2 /CuS, while *OH dissociated from water can spontaneously anchor toward S V to hinder the local proton migration, completely circumventing multiproton products. Meanwhile, the preferential desorption of *CO from Cu centers adjacent to the *OH‐anchored S V renders the exclusive formation of CO. In the absence of S V , *CO can be further hydrogenated in a lower free energy/even spontaneously to afford CH 4 . The proposed proton confinement effect furnishes a promising reference for the selectivity control of eCO 2 RR, and the photo‐assisted electroreductive protocol demonstrates a paradigm of in situ stabilization of electron‐intolerant catalytic structures.
Authors
- Shengqi Liu
- Dingsheng S. Wang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0074-7633)
- Song Yang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1301-3030)
- Hu Li (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3604-9271)
- Zhanhu Guo (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0134-0210)
- Zhengyi Li (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9653-0687)
Institutions
- Guizhou University (CN)
- Tsinghua University (CN)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Angewandte Chemie
- Published
- 2025-04-21
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1002/ange.202506608
- Citations
- 3
- Primary Topic
- CO2 Reduction Techniques and Catalysts
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 1.09