Establishment of Gas–Liquid–Solid Interface on Multilevel Porous Cu2O for Potential-Driven Selective CO2 Electroreduction toward C1 or C2 Products
Copper-based catalysts demonstrate distinctive multicarbon product activity in the CO2 electroreduction reaction (CO2RR); however, their low selectivity presents significant challenges for practical applications. Herein, we have developed a multilevel porous spherical Cu2O structure, wherein the mesopores are enriched with catalytic active sites and effectively stabilize Cu+, while the macropores facilitate the formation of a “gas–liquid–solid” three-phase interface, thereby creating a microenvironment with an increasing water concentration gradient from the interior to the exterior. Potential-driven phase engineering and protonation synergistically optimize the reaction pathway, facilitating a switch between CO and C2H4. At a low current density of 100 mA cm–2, the faradaic efficiency (FE) for CO reaches an impressive 96.97%. When the current density increases to 1000 mA cm–2, FEC2H4 attains 53.05%. Experiments and theoretical calculations indicate that at lower potentials, the pure Cu2O phase diminishes the adsorption of *CO intermediates, while weak protonation inhibits hydrogen evolution reactions, thereby promoting CO production. Conversely, at more negative potentials, the Cu0/Cu+ interface and strong protonation generate locally elevated concentrations of *CO and *COOH intermediates, which enhance C–C coupling and deep hydrogenation, ultimately improving selectivity toward C2+ products. This study provides novel insights into the rational design of copper-based catalysts for customizable CO2 electroreduction products.
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