Molecularly Woven Cationic Covalent Organic Frameworks for Highly Selective Electrocatalytic Conversion of CO2 to CO

Coupling carbon capture with electrocatalytic carbon dioxide reduction (CO2R) to yield high-value chemicals presents an appealing avenue for combating climate change, yet achieving highly selective electrocatalysts remains a significant challenge. Herein, two molecularly woven covalent organic frameworks (COFs) are designed, namely CuCOF and CuCOF+, with copper(I)-bisphenanthroline complexes as building blocks. The metal-organic helical structure unit made the CuCOF and CuCOF+ present woven patterns, and their ordered pore structures and cationic properties enhanced their CO2 adsorption and good conductivity, which is confirmed by gas adsorption and electrochemical analysis. In the electrocatalytic CO2R measurements, CuCOF+ decorated with extra ethyl groups exhibit a main CO product with selectivity of 57.81%, outperforming the CuCOF with 42.92% CO at the same applied potential of 0.8 VRHE. After loading Pd nanoparticles, CuCOF-Pd and CuCOF+-Pd performed increased CO selectivity up to 84.97% and 95.45%, respectively. Combining the DFT theoretical calculations and experimental measurements, it is assumed that the molecularly woven cationic COF provides a catalytic microenvironment for CO2R and ensures efficient charge transfer from the electrode to the catalytic center, thereby achieving high electrocatalytic activity and selectivity. The present work significantly advances the practice of cationic COFs in real-time CO2 capture and highly selective conversion to value-added chemicals.

Honeycomb-like CuO@C for electroreduction of carbon dioxide to ethylene

The electrochemical CO₂ reduction (ECR) of high-value multicarbon products is an urgent challenge for catalysis and energy resources. Herein, we reported a simple polymer thermal treatment strategy for preparing honeycomb-like CuO@C catalysts for ECR with remarkable C₂H₄ activity and selectivity. The honeycomb-like structure favored the enrichment of more CO₂ molecules to improve the CO₂-to-C₂H₄ conversion. Further experimental results indicate that the CuO loaded on amorphous carbon with a calcination temperature of 600 °C (CuO@C-600) has a Faradaic efficiency (FE) as high as 60.2% towards C₂H₄ formation, significantly outperforming pure CuO-600 (18.3%), CuO@C-500 (45.1%) and CuO@C-700 (41.4%), respectively. The interaction between the CuO nanoparticles and amorphous carbon improves the electron transfer and accelerates the ECR process. Furthermore, in situ Raman spectra demonstrated that CuO@C-600 can adsorb more adsorbed *CO intermediates, which enriches the CC coupling kinetics and promotes C₂H₄ production. This finding may offer a paradigm to design high-efficiency electrocatalysts, which can be beneficial to achieve the "double carbon goal."

Super-Branched PdCu Alloy for Efficiently Converting Carbon Dioxide to Carbon Monoxide

The alloying of noble metals with Cu is one of the most effective strategies for improving catalytic performance and reducing cost in electrocatalytic carbon dioxide reduction reactions (CO₂RR). Previous works usually focused on the influence of morphology and composition on the catalytic activity, but lacked the study of the valence state ratio of metals and the electron transfer behavior on alloys. In this work, PdCu-2 alloy (Pd/Cu molar ratio is 1:2) was obtained by a simple one-step solvothermal method, which can effectively convert CO₂ to CO with a maximum Faradaic efficiency (FE) of 85% at -0.9 V (vs. RHE). Then, the effect of the chemical state of Pd and Cu on the catalytic performance was investigated. The X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) shows that the binding energy of Pd in PdCu alloy has a negative shift, which has affected the adsorption of key intermediates. When the proportion of oxidized state and zero-valent metal in the alloy is about 1:2, the PdCu alloy shows the best catalytic activity. In addition, the transient photovoltage (TPV) measurements further demonstrate that due to the introduction of Cu, the electron transfer rate of PdCu-2 becomes the slowest, which helps the accumulation of electrons on PdCu-2 and leads to the improvement of catalytic performance for electrocatalytic CO₂RR. This work can provide more insights into the alloy catalysts of electrocatalytic CO₂RR.

Alloying strategies for tuning product selectivity during electrochemical CO2 reduction over Cu

Excessive reliance on fossil fuels has led to the release and accumulation of large quantities of CO₂ into the atmosphere which has raised serious concerns related to environmental pollution and global warming. One way to mitigate this problem is to electrochemically recycle CO₂ to value-added chemicals or fuels using electricity from renewable energy sources. Cu is the only metallic electrocatalyst that has been shown to produce a wide range of industrially important chemicals at appreciable rates. However, low product selectivity is a fundamental issue limiting commercial applications of electrochemical CO₂ reduction over Cu catalysts. Combining copper with other metals that actively contribute to the electrochemical CO₂ reduction reaction process can selectively facilitate generation of desirable products. Alloying Cu can alter surface binding strength through electronic and geometric effects, enhancing the availability of surface confined carbon species, and stabilising key reduction intermediates. As a result, significant research has been undertaken to design and fabricate copper-based alloy catalysts with structures that can enhance the selectivity of targeted products. In this article, progress with use of alloying strategies for development of Cu-alloy catalysts are reviewed. Challenges in achieving high selectivity and possible future directions for development of new copper-based alloy catalysts are considered.

Electronic Structure Optimization of PdZn-Graphitic Carbon Nitride Nanocomposites as Electrocatalysts for Selective CO2 to CO Conversion

Herein, a novel PdZn/g-C₃N₄ nanocomposite electrocatalyst, PdZnGCN, prepared from a facile hydrothermal reduction procedure for an efficient CO₂ to CO conversion has been examined. This composite catalyst reduces CO₂ at a thermodynamic overpotential of 0.79 V versus RHE with a 93.6% CO Faradaic efficiency and a CO partial current density of 4.4 mA cm^-2. Moreover, the turnover frequency for PdZnGCN reaches 20 974 h^-1 with an average selectivity of 95.4% for CO after 1 h and an energy efficiency approaching 59%, which is superior to most reported noble metals and metal alloys as electrocatalysts. The enhanced catalytic activity of this nanocomposite is due to synergistic interactions between PdZn and g-C₃N₄ as evidenced by optimum work function, zeta potential, CO desorption rate, and downshifted d-band center. Furthermore, suppressed grain growth during the formation of nanocomposites also results in faster reaction kinetics, as demonstrated by a lower Tafel slope (93.6 mV/dec) and a larger electrochemically active surface, consequently enhancing the overall performance.

Rational-Designed Principles for Electrochemical and Photoelectrochemical Upgrading of CO2 to Value-Added Chemicals

The chemical transformation of carbon dioxide (CO2 ) has been considered as a promising strategy to utilize and further upgrade it to value-added chemicals, aiming at alleviating global warming. In this regard, sustainable driving forces (i.e., electricity and sunlight) have been introduced to convert CO2 into various chemical feedstocks. Electrocatalytic CO2 reduction reaction (CO2 RR) can generate carbonaceous molecules (e.g., formate, CO, hydrocarbons, and alcohols) via multiple-electron transfer. With the assistance of extra light energy, photoelectrocatalysis effectively improve the kinetics of CO2 conversion, which not only decreases the overpotentials for CO2 RR but also enhances the lifespan of photo-induced carriers for the consecutive catalytic process. Recently, rational-designed catalysts and advanced characterization techniques have emerged in these fields, which make CO2 -to-chemicals conversion in a clean and highly-efficient manner. Herein, this review timely and thoroughly discusses the recent advancements in the practical conversion of CO2 through electro- and photoelectrocatalytic technologies in the past 5 years. Furthermore, the recent studies of operando analysis and theoretical calculations are highlighted to gain systematic insights into CO2 RR. Finally, the challenges and perspectives in the fields of CO2 (photo)electrocatalysis are outlined for their further development.

Recent Advances in Interface Engineering for Electrocatalytic CO2 Reduction Reaction

Electrocatalytic CO₂ reduction reaction (CO₂RR) can store and transform the intermittent renewable energy in the form of chemical energy for industrial production of chemicals and fuels, which can dramatically reduce CO₂ emission and contribute to carbon-neutral cycle. Efficient electrocatalytic reduction of chemically inert CO₂ is challenging from thermodynamic and kinetic points of view. Therefore, low-cost, highly efficient, and readily available electrocatalysts have been the focus for promoting the conversion of CO₂. Very recently, interface engineering has been considered as a highly effective strategy to modulate the electrocatalytic performance through electronic and/or structural modulation, regulations of electron/proton/mass/intermediates, and the control of local reactant concentration, thereby achieving desirable reaction pathway, inhibiting competing hydrogen generation, breaking binding-energy scaling relations of intermediates, and promoting CO₂ mass transfer. In this review, we aim to provide a comprehensive overview of current developments in interface engineering for CO₂RR from both a theoretical and experimental standpoint, involving interfaces between metal and metal, metal and metal oxide, metal and nonmetal, metal oxide and metal oxide, organic molecules and inorganic materials, electrode and electrolyte, molecular catalysts and electrode, etc. Finally, the opportunities and challenges of interface engineering for CO₂RR are proposed.

Carbon-supported Ni nanoparticles for efficient CO2 electroreduction

The development of highly selective, low cost, and energy-efficient electrocatalysts is crucial for CO2 electrocatalysis to mitigate energy shortages and to lower the global carbon footprint. Herein, we first report that carbon-coated Ni nanoparticles supported on N-doped carbon enable efficient electroreduction of CO2 to CO. In contrast to most previously reported Ni metal catalysts that resulted in severe hydrogen evolution during CO2 conversion, the Ni particle catalyst here presents an unprecedented CO faradaic efficiency of approximately 94% at an overpotential of 0.59 V, even comparable to that of the best single Ni sites. The catalyst also affords a high CO partial current density and a large CO turnover frequency, reaching 22.7 mA cm-2 and 697 h-1 at -1.1 V (versus the reversible hydrogen electrode), respectively. Experiments combined with density functional theory calculations showed that the carbon layer coated on Ni and N-dopants in carbon material both play important roles in improving catalytic activity for electrochemical CO2 reduction to CO by stabilizing *COOH without affecting the easy *CO desorption ability of the catalyst.