Highly efficient and stable ethanol electrosynthesis from carbon dioxide at -250 mA cm^-2.

Abstract

The electrocatalytic reduction of carbon dioxide (CO₂RR) to ethanol (C₂H₅OH) represents notable research significance and commercial value in large-scale chemical production. However, the limited selectivity for C₂H₅OH and the uncontrollable changes in active sites during reaction process restrict the ability of catalyst to achieve stable and efficient CO₂RR to C₂H₅OH at industrial current density. Here, we report a system that immunizes the reconstruction of catalytic active sites, where the CuAg catalytic centers are protected by nitrilotriacetic acid (NTA). Importantly, the constructed CuAg@NTA catalyst exhibits low barriers for C-C coupling and hydrogenation of *CH₂CHO to *CH₃CH₂O. Consequently, the catalyst achieves a high ethanol faradaic efficiency (FE_C2H5OH) of 87.21% with a partial current density of -218.03 mA cm^-2. Furthermore, the catalyst maintaining over 70% of FE_C2H5OH after 300 h at -250 mA cm^-2, which are leading among previously reported catalysts in the selectivity and stability of CO₂RR to C₂H₅OH at industrial current density. This study provides insights into the selectivity and stability enhancement of catalysts for electrocatalytic CO₂RR to C₂H₅OH.