Selective and Energy Efficient Electrocatalytic CO<sub>2</sub>‐to‐Ethanol Conversion through Anion Modulation
Abstract Ethanol, with its high market value and stable global demand, stands out as an attractive product of electrocatalytic CO 2 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 2 ‐to‐ethanol conversion. The Cu 2 (OH) 3 F pre‐catalyst achieved Faradaic efficiencies of 50% and 93% for ethanol and C 2+ , respectively, at 700 mA cm −2 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)
- Zhangliu Tian (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1293-3900)
- Yukun Xiao (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5089-3538)
- Tong Zhu (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7472-3736)
- Shibo Xi (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8521-3237)
- Yanwei Lum (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7261-2098)
- Ganwen Chen (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3361-7907)
- Jie Chen (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0110-1706)
- Chen Ji (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0059-377X)
- Xiang Chen (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8480-4203)
- Yumin Da
- Wei Chen (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1131-3585)
- Jia Zhang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4628-0215)
- Lei Fan (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4244-0971)
- Meng Wang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0001-2074)
- Lei Wang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1931-7767)
- Rui Jiang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0005-9856-4609)
- 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
- Published
- 2025-06-29
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1002/ange.202506867
- Citations
- 1
- Primary Topic
- CO2 Reduction Techniques and Catalysts
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.36
Funders
- Agency for Science, Technology and Research