Efficient electrosynthesis of CO-rich syngas over CeO2-armored Ag nanowires towards sustainable steelmaking

Incorporating electrochemical CO 2 reduction (ECR) that produces CO-rich syngas into the workflow of steelmaking presents a promising strategy to neutralize the steelmaking industry. Herein, we develop a highly efficient and stable Ag nanowires with surface CeO 2 armors (CeO 2 /AgNWs) as ECR electrocatalyst for syngas production. The engineered CeO 2 -Ag interface facilitates CO 2 -to-CO conversion by lowering the energy barrier for *COOH intermediate formation through synergistic electronic effects. At an industrially relevant current density of −251.3 mA cm −2 , the CeO 2 /AgNWs generate CO-rich syngas by co-electrolysis of CO 2 and H 2 O, with a high Faradaic efficiency (FE) of 92.1 % for CO. Techno-economic analysis (TEA) reveals that integrating the CeO 2 /AgNWs-driven ECR into existing steelmaking workflows can potentially reduce CO 2 emissions by 83 % and elevate the renewable energy utilization to ∼91.4 %, unlocking new possibilities for achieving carbon neutrality in the steel industry.