Synergistic Cu nanowires/COF hybrid catalyst for high-efficiency CO2 electroreduction to C2+ products

Abstract

Abstract The electrocatalytic CO 2 reduction reaction (eCO 2 RR) to high-value-added products is a highly promising strategy for alleviating the energy crisis and reducing carbon emissions. However, traditional Cu-based catalysts exhibit weak adsorption of CO 2 and low *CO intermediates coverage on their surfaces, leading to poor selectivity toward multi-carbon products. In this study, a hybrid structure comprising Cu nanowires and a covalent organic framework (Cu NWs@COF) was constructed, leveraging their synergistic effect to significantly enhance the performance of CO 2 electroreduction. The developed catalyst achieves a Faradaic efficiency (FE) of 77% for C 2+ products, with a current density of 227.4 mA cm − 2 , substantially outperforming unmodified Cu nanowires in alkaline electrolyte. Moreover, the catalyst also significantly enhances C 2+ products selectivity in both acidic and neutral electrolytes. Experimental results demonstrate that the incorporation of COF optimizes the local microenvironment of the Cu surface, strengthens the adsorption of CO 2 and the key *CO intermediate, and lowers the energy barrier for C–C coupling, thereby effectively promoting the formation of C 2+ products. This work provides a novel approach for designing high-performance electrocatalysts by constructing hybrid structures with organic frameworks to modulate the catalytic microenvironment.