Selective and Energy Efficient Electrocatalytic CO <sub>2</sub> ‐to‐Ethanol Conversion through Anion Modulation
Ethanol, with its high market value and stable global demand, stands out as an attractive product of electrocatalytic CO<sub>2</sub> reduction. However, achieving high ethanol selectivity and energy efficiency at industrial current densities remains challenging. In this study, we employed a blended anion modulation strategy to enhance the selectivity and energy efficiency of CO<sub>2</sub>-to-ethanol conversion. The Cu<sub>2</sub>(OH)<sub>3</sub>F pre-catalyst achieved Faradaic efficiencies of 50% and 93% for ethanol and C<sub>2+</sub>, respectively, at 700 mA cm<sup>-2</sup> in a blended electrolyte consisting of 2 M KOH and 1 M KCl. Comprehensive electrochemical tests, combined with in situ characterizations and theoretical analysis, revealed that chloride and hydroxide increased *CO coverage for efficient C─C coupling. Moreover, hydroxide stabilizes the *CHCOH intermediate through hydrogen bonding with the adsorbed hydroxide on the catalyst surface, while Cl synergistically enhances its reactivity by promoting water dissociation toward the ethanol pathway.
Authors
- Hanqian Zhang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9280-9832)
- Rui Jiang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1849-3643)
- Zhangliu Tian (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1293-3900)
- Yukun Xiao (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5089-3538)
- Shibo Xi (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8521-3237)
- Yanwei Lum (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7261-2098)
- Meng Wang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4067-1127)
- Ganwen Chen (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3361-7907)
- Chen Ji (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0059-377X)
- Xiang Chen (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8480-4203)
- Yumin Da
- Jie Chen (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4599-3600)
- Wei Chen (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1131-3585)
- Jia Zhang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4628-0215)
- Lei Wang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1931-7767)
- Tong Fei Zhu (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2752-7924)
- Lei Fan (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2814-0307)
- Hongqiang Jin
Institutions
- Agency for Science, Technology and Research (SG)
- Tianjin University (CN)
- National University of Singapore (SG)
- Defence Science and Technology Agency (SG)
- Institute of High Performance Computing (SG)
- Technology Centre Prague (CZ)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Angewandte Chemie International Edition
- Published
- 2025-06-29
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1002/anie.202506867
- Citations
- 15
- Primary Topic
- CO2 Reduction Techniques and Catalysts
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 5.45
Funders
- Agency for Science, Technology and Research