Sr²⁺-Doped CuO Nanoribbons with the Hydrophobic Surface Enabling CO₂ Electroreduction to Ethane

Electrochemical reduction of carbon dioxide to value-added multicarbon (C₂₊) products is a promising way to obtain renewable fuels of high energy densities and chemicals and close the carbon cycle. However, the difficulty of C-C coupling and complexity of the proton-coupled electron transfer process greatly hinder CO₂ electroreduction into specific C₂₊ products with high selectivity. Here, we design an electrocatalyst of Sr-doped CuO nanoribbons with a hydrophobic surface for CO₂ electroreduction to ethane with high selectivity. Sr doping enhances the chemical adsorption and activation of CO₂ by inducing oxygen vacancies and increasing *CO coverage by stabilizing Cu²⁺ active sites, thus further boosting subsequent C-C coupling. The hydrophobic surface with dodecyl sulfate anions (DS^-) adsorption increases the oxophilicity of the catalyst surface, enhancing the conversion of the *OCH₂CH₃ intermediate to ethane. As a result, the optimized Sr_1.97%-CuO exhibits a Faradaic efficiency of 53.4% and a partial current density of 13.5 mA cm^-2 for ethane under a potential of -0.8 V. This study provides a strategy to design a Cu-based catalyst by alkaline earth metal ions doping with the hydrophobic surface to engineer the evolution of the intermediates for a desired product during CO₂RR.