De Novo Engineering High‐Density Proximal Copper Single Atoms for Enhanced C─C Coupling in CO 2 Electroreduction

ABSTRACT Copper‐based single‐atom catalysts (SACs) are promising for the electrochemical CO 2 reduction reaction, yet their multicarbon production remains restricted by the inherent trade‐off among atomic loading, dispersion, and proximity required for efficient C─C coupling. In this study, we develop a de novo coordination‐site and geometry engineering strategy to construct high‐density proximal Cu SACs for improving CO 2 ‐to‐C 2+ electroreduction. Flexible molecular building blocks rich in N/O coordination motifs assemble into wrinkled 2D networks and further hierarchically organize into a 3D nanoflower framework, where isolated Cu sites with high loading of 14 wt% are anchored via robust N/O coordination. The structural bending brings adjacent Cu atoms into close proximity (∼2.6 Å). Competitive N/O coordination generates asymmetric and low‐coordinated microenvironments, promoting *CO intermediate stabilization and subsequent C─C coupling. The optimized catalyst achieves a C 2+ Faradaic efficiency of 81.34% at 500 mA·cm −2 , including 51% ethylene selectivity, with stable operation exceeding 100 h. This work sheds light on structural dimensional control and microenvironment engineering for promoting cooperative catalysis in single‐atom systems, offering new opportunities for efficient multicarbon electrosynthesis.

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Publication Details

Journal
Angewandte Chemie
Published
2026-10-15
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1002/ange.9990726
Primary Topic
CO2 Reduction Techniques and Catalysts
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
0.00

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article

De Novo Engineering High‐Density Proximal Copper Single Atoms for Enhanced C─C Coupling in CO 2 Electroreduction

F.T. Cheng, Qianyi Ma, Qun Yi, Mingyue Qiu et al.
Angewandte Chemie
CO2 Reduction Techniques and Catalysts
article

De Novo Engineering High‐Density Proximal Copper Single Atoms for Enhanced C─C Coupling in CO 2 Electroreduction

F.T. Cheng, Qianyi Ma, Qun Yi, Mingyue Qiu, Lijuan Shi, Huaidong Zhang, Liwei Cheng, Qian Ma, Mingxiao Cheng
article en

Abstract

ABSTRACT Copper‐based single‐atom catalysts (SACs) are promising for the electrochemical CO 2 reduction reaction, yet their multicarbon production remains restricted by the inherent trade‐off among atomic loading, dispersion, and proximity required for efficient C─C coupling. In this study, we develop a de novo coordination‐site and geometry engineering strategy to construct high‐density proximal Cu SACs for improving CO 2 ‐to‐C 2+ electroreduction. Flexible molecular building blocks rich in N/O coordination motifs assemble into wrinkled 2D networks and further hierarchically organize into a 3D nanoflower framework, where isolated Cu sites with high loading of 14 wt% are anchored via robust N/O coordination. The structural bending brings adjacent Cu atoms into close proximity (∼2.6 Å). Competitive N/O coordination generates asymmetric and low‐coordinated microenvironments, promoting *CO intermediate stabilization and subsequent C─C coupling. The optimized catalyst achieves a C 2+ Faradaic efficiency of 81.34% at 500 mA·cm −2 , including 51% ethylene selectivity, with stable operation exceeding 100 h. This work sheds light on structural dimensional control and microenvironment engineering for promoting cooperative catalysis in single‐atom systems, offering new opportunities for efficient multicarbon electrosynthesis.

Angewandte Chemie
Wuhan Institute of Technology (CN)
National Natural Science Foundation of China, Key Research and Development Project of Hainan Province
Affordable and clean energy
Openalex Percentile: Top 35%
CO2 Reduction Techniques and Catalysts
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