Hierarchical Modulation in Cu‐Aerogel Enables Breakthrough CO <sub>2</sub> Electroreduction for Combating Stability‐Efficiency‐Selectivity Tradeoff
Design of electrocatalyst combining low overpotential, high selectivity and stability for combating the stability-efficiency-selectivity tradeoff in CO<sub>2</sub> electroreduction remains a crucial challenge. Herein, a hierarchical modulation strategy is proposed for the precise assembly of Boron (B) and Tin (Sn), resulting in novel copper (Cu)-aerogel (BSnCu3) structures with both structural and functional hierarchies for advanced CO<sub>2</sub> electroreduction. Superficial assembled Tin creates Cu<sup>0</sup> protective layer for high stability, the body assembled Boron improves the binding affinity to intermediates and shifts Cu d-band upward for enhanced charge transfer. BSnCu3 achieves exceptional performance, including an ethanol selectivity of 93.2%, a Faradaic efficiency (FE) of 90.3%, and an ultralow overpotential of 0.12 V, alongside remarkable stability. Leveraging the synergistic effects of regionally assembled Boron/Tin and the efficient charge/mass transfer of the 3D nanowire network, BSnCu3 attains a record-breaking tradeoff index of 2.74, surpassing all reported values. This work presents an inspiring strategy and sets a new benchmark for advanced electrocatalyst design.
Authors
- Keqiang Xu (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1376-5670)
- Cheng Ding (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7244-3535)
- Jinyu Dai
- Xiu‐Li Yang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5605-0731)
- Amare Aregahegn Dubale (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7674-5709)
- Weiqi Wang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7905-3126)
- Ming‐Hua Xie (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7959-6163)
- Haotian Ling (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3626-9397)
- Feng Cheng
Institutions
- Shanghai Jiao Tong University (CN)
- Addis Ababa Science and Technology University (ET)
- Yancheng Institute of Technology (CN)
- Addis Ababa University (ET)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Small
- Published
- 2025-08-15
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1002/smll.202504818
- Citations
- 1
- Primary Topic
- CO2 Reduction Techniques and Catalysts
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.36
Funders
- National Natural Science Foundation of China
- Qinglan Project of Jiangsu Province of China