Highly efficient and stable ethanol electrosynthesis from carbon dioxide at −250 mA cm−2

The electrocatalytic reduction of carbon dioxide (CO 2 RR) to ethanol (C 2 H 5 OH) represents notable research significance and commercial value in large-scale chemical production. However, the limited selectivity for C 2 H 5 OH and the uncontrollable changes in active sites during reaction process restrict the ability of catalyst to achieve stable and efficient CO 2 RR to C 2 H 5 OH 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 *CH 2 CHO to *CH 3 CH 2 O. 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 CO 2 RR to C 2 H 5 OH at industrial current density. This study provides insights into the selectivity and stability enhancement of catalysts for electrocatalytic CO 2 RR to C 2 H 5 OH.