Built‐In Electric Field Triggered Interfacial Water Activation for Industrial‐Level Electrosynthesis of Ethylene from CO <sub>2</sub>
The electrochemical reduction of CO<sub>2</sub> to ethylene (C<sub>2</sub>H<sub>4</sub>), as opposed to traditional industrial methods, stands out as an environmentally friendly benign and promising technical solution for producing value-added chemicals using renewable electricity. Here, we introduce a built-in electric field in La(OH)<sub>3</sub>-Cu (BEF@La(OH)<sub>3</sub>-Cu) electrocatalyst that can exclusively convert from CO<sub>2</sub> to C<sub>2</sub>H<sub>4</sub> with a maximum Faradaic efficiency of 84.2% and high intrinsic activity exceeding 842.0 mA cm<sup>-2</sup>, while maintaining robust stability of 110 h. Furthermore, the corresponding C<sub>2</sub>H<sub>4</sub> formation rate and energy efficiency can reach 2618.0 µmol cm<sup>-2</sup> h<sup>-1</sup> and 31.2%, respectively. The BEF@La(OH)<sub>3</sub>-Cu electrocatalyst was constructed by stacking La(OH)<sub>3</sub> and Cu layers, forming a built-in electric field induced by electron transfer between La→O←Cu. The electric field effectively triggered H<sub>2</sub>O dissociation on La(OH)<sub>3</sub>-Cu interface for supplying active hydrogen (*H) species, which promoted multiple protonation steps in the process of CO<sub>2</sub>-to-C<sub>2</sub>H<sub>4</sub> conversion. The *H species then easily migrate to Cu sites, reducing the energy barrier for the conversion from *CO to *COH, thus enhancing the efficient asymmetric *CO-*COH coupling and ultimately boosting the C<sub>2</sub>H<sub>4</sub> production under ampere-level operation.
Authors
- Zhijun Zhu (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6376-5041)
- Weiwei Guo (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0000-1611-0202)
- Wenshan Gao (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9841-6810)
- Xiaoquan Lu (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0005-9919-4996)
- Doudou Liu
- Xianzhen Lang
- Qian Gong (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7994-6629)
- Yanling Zhai
- Guixian Xie
Institutions
- Qingdao University (CN)
- Zero to Three (US)
- Northwest Normal University (CN)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Angewandte Chemie International Edition
- Published
- 2025-10-29
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1002/anie.202517221
- Citations
- 5
- Primary Topic
- CO2 Reduction Techniques and Catalysts
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 1.82
Funders
- National Natural Science Foundation of China
- China Postdoctoral Science Foundation
- Beijing Synchrotron Radiation Facility