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Updated: Nov 29, 2025

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Coupling of Cu(100) and (110) Facets Promotes Carbon Dioxide Conversion to Hydrocarbons and Alcohols
Dazhong Zhong1,2, Zhi-Jian Zhao1, Qiang Zhao2
1Key Laboratory for Green Chemical Technology of Ministry of Education, School of Chemical Engineering and Technology, Tianjin University, Collaborative Innovation Center of Chemical Science and Engineering (Tianjin), Weijin Road 92, Tianjin, 300072, China.
Abstract:
Copper can efficiently electro-catalyze carbon dioxide reduction to C2+ products (C2 H4 , C2 H5 OH, n-propanol). However, the correlation between the activity and active sites remains ambiguous, impeding further improvements in their performance. The facet effect of copper crystals to promote CO adsorption and C-C coupling and consequently yield a superior selectivity for C2+ products is described. We achieve a high Faradaic efficiency (FE) of 87 % and a large partial current density of 217 mA cm-2 toward C2+ products on Cu(OH)2 -D at only -0.54 V versus the reversible hydrogen electrode in a flow-cell electrolyzer. With further coupled to a Si solar cell, record-high solar conversion efficiencies of 4.47 % and 6.4 % are achieved for C2 H4 and C2+ products, respectively. This study provides an in-depth understanding of the selective formation of C2+ products on Cu and paves the way for the practical application of electrocatalytic or solar-driven CO2 reduction.
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