Self‐Assembled Monolayer Interface with Reconstructed Hydrogen‐Bond Network for Enhanced CO<sub>2</sub> Electroreduction
CO<sub>2</sub> electrolysis is a promising approach to reduce CO<sub>2</sub> emissions while achieving high-value multi-carbon (C<sub>2+</sub>) products. Except for the key role of electrocatalyst for electrochemical CO<sub>2</sub> reduction reaction (CO<sub>2</sub>RR), Reaction microenvironment is another critical factor influencing catalytic performance for these catalysts. Herein, a self-assembled monolayer (SAM) is proposed with reconstructed hydrogen-bond network to form an efficient three-phase interface that admins mass transport and ion-electron transfer. This approach is realized by co-assembly of the fluorinated SAM (F-SAM) and siloxane on commercial Cu catalyst (Cu@F-Si composite catalyst). Molecular dynamics simulations (MDS) and interfacial species analysis show that the F-SAM effectively facilitates CO<sub>2</sub> mass transport, while the siloxane hydrogen bond network maintains an ideal H<sup>+</sup>/e<sup>-</sup> transfer pathway. Combined with density functional theory (DFT) calculations, this strategy reveals the mechanism by which optimizing *H/*CO coverage enhances C<sub>2+</sub> product selectivity. Ultimately, the Cu@F-Si catalyst maintains a high current density of 502.5 mA cm<sup>-2</sup> with over 85% C<sub>2+</sub> Faradaic efficiency (FE) and operates stably for more than 100 h at ≈300 mA cm<sup>-2</sup>. This interface engineering strategy offers a promising solution for improving the efficiency of CO<sub>2</sub>RR, with broader applications in multiphase catalytic systems.
Authors
- Yaqiong Su (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5581-5352)
- Bao Yu Xia (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2054-908X)
- Jiexin Zhu (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1629-240X)
- Shenghua Chen (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0898-5292)
- Yuantao Wei
- Chunhui Xiao (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7451-5099)
- Fuqing Yu (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0003-4126)
- Mengyang Li (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0853-6742)
- Boyang Li (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2808-9986)
- Shujiang Ding (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5683-0973)
- Jianrui Zhang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3042-0527)
- Tianxi He (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8996-9082)
- Yang Wang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5040-2492)
Institutions
- Xidian University (CN)
- University of Toronto (CA)
- Huazhong University of Science and Technology (CN)
- Sungkyunkwan University (KR)
- Xi'an Jiaotong University (CN)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Advanced Materials
- Published
- 2025-05-07
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1002/adma.202504515
- Citations
- 29
- Primary Topic
- CO2 Reduction Techniques and Catalysts
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 10.54
Funders
- National Natural Science Foundation of China