Cu Triatomic Sites Embedded COFs Enable Highly Selective CO <sub>2</sub> Electroreduction to C <sub>2</sub> H <sub>4</sub>
Abstract Cu‐based covalent organic framework (COF) catalysts with well‐defined and porous structures hold significant promise for CO 2 electroreduction reaction (CO 2 RR), while producing mainly simple C1 products. Designing Cu‐based COF catalysts targeting C2+ products are still challenging due to unfavorable C─C coupling on far‐located isolated Cu sites. Herein, vinylene‐linked metal‐covalent organic frameworks (MCOFs,Cu‐CTU+TMTT‐MCOF and Cu‐CTU+TMTP‐MCOF) catalysts with a well‐defined crystalline structure, high density, and symmetrical Cu triatomic coordination environment are elaborately constructed. The Cu‐CTU+TMTT‐MCOF demonstrated a remarkable CO 2 RR‐to‐C 2 H 4 faradaic efficiency (FE) of 51.9% and a current density of 360.1 mA cm −2 at the potential of −1.17 V versus reversible hydrogen electrode (RHE) in 1.0 m KOH solution. In situ Fourier transform infrared spectra and density functional theory studies revealed that the adjacent symmetric Cu site with a close distance in vinylene‐linked MCOFs can stabilize H 2 COH‐H 2 C * intermediates, thus improving the selectivity of C2 products. This study presents an innovative approach for constructing symmetrical Cu triatomic sites while offering critical guidance for advancing metal‐based COFs to enhance CO 2 RR‐to‐C 2 H 4 efficiency.
Authors
- Peng Zhou (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3317-3747)
- Jinfang Kou
- Jiantai Ma (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3133-7696)
- Zhengping Dong (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0775-1133)
- Zehui Zhang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1711-2191)
- Jijie Li
- Man Xu (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7750-1693)
- Liang Huang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0002-3569-1107)
- Fengwei Zhang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6770-0242)
Institutions
- Shanxi University (CN)
- Ministry of Education (PT)
- Wuhan University of Science and Technology (CN)
- Lanzhou University (CN)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Advanced Functional Materials
- Published
- 2025-10-13
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1002/adfm.202518725
- Citations
- 1
- Primary Topic
- CO2 Reduction Techniques and Catalysts
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.36