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.
Authors
- Qi Li (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6422-5020)
- Qin‐Bao Lian
- Yu‐Peng Han
- Fei Wang
- Wan‐Ting Xia
- Jian Zhang
Institutions
- Fujian Institute of Research on the Structure of Matter (CN)
- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences (CN)
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