Charge‐Asymmetric Dual‐Cu Sites in a Metal‐Organic Framework Direct CO <sub>2</sub> Electroreduction to Ethanol

ABSTRACT The selective electrochemical CO 2 reduction reaction (CO 2 RR) to ethanol is constrained by copper's intrinsic kinetic preference for the ethylene‐forming *CO→*COH pathway over the ethanol‐selective *CO→*CHO route. Conventional solutions break this preference by introducing extrinsic chemical heterogeneity. Herein, we report an approach to generating electronic asymmetry in a homometallic system. The in‐situ construction of a chemically bonded interface between a binuclear Cu‐MOF and copper foil (cf) induces electron transfer, transforming symmetric Cu dimers into cooperative, charge‐asymmetric dual sites. These sites function as a kinetic gate, raising the barrier for *CO→*COH while lowering it for *CO→*CHO to direct selectivity toward ethanol, as confirmed by in‐situ spectroscopy and DFT. The findings indicate that interfacial electron redistribution can provide a straightforward means to encode functional asymmetry in homometallic electrocatalysts and to modulate multistep reaction pathways.

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Publication Details

Journal
Angewandte Chemie
Published
2026-03-11
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1002/ange.202525945
Primary Topic
CO2 Reduction Techniques and Catalysts
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
0.00
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article

Charge‐Asymmetric Dual‐Cu Sites in a Metal‐Organic Framework Direct CO 2 Electroreduction to Ethanol

Qi Li, Qin‐Bao Lian, Yu‐Peng Han, Fei Wang et al.
Angewandte Chemie
CO2 Reduction Techniques and Catalysts
article

Charge‐Asymmetric Dual‐Cu Sites in a Metal‐Organic Framework Direct CO 2 Electroreduction to Ethanol

Qi Li, Qin‐Bao Lian, Yu‐Peng Han, Fei Wang, Wan‐Ting Xia, Jian Zhang
article en

Abstract

ABSTRACT The selective electrochemical CO 2 reduction reaction (CO 2 RR) to ethanol is constrained by copper's intrinsic kinetic preference for the ethylene‐forming *CO→*COH pathway over the ethanol‐selective *CO→*CHO route. Conventional solutions break this preference by introducing extrinsic chemical heterogeneity. Herein, we report an approach to generating electronic asymmetry in a homometallic system. The in‐situ construction of a chemically bonded interface between a binuclear Cu‐MOF and copper foil (cf) induces electron transfer, transforming symmetric Cu dimers into cooperative, charge‐asymmetric dual sites. These sites function as a kinetic gate, raising the barrier for *CO→*COH while lowering it for *CO→*CHO to direct selectivity toward ethanol, as confirmed by in‐situ spectroscopy and DFT. The findings indicate that interfacial electron redistribution can provide a straightforward means to encode functional asymmetry in homometallic electrocatalysts and to modulate multistep reaction pathways.

Angewandte Chemie
Fujian Institute of Research on the Structure of Matter (CN), University of Chinese Academy of Sciences (CN)
Openalex Percentile: Top 31%
CO2 Reduction Techniques and Catalysts
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