Interface engineering of Mo8/Cu heterostructures toward highly selective electrochemical reduction of carbon dioxide into acetate

Electrocatalytic CO 2 reduction reaction (CO 2 RR) is a promising pathway for storage of renewable electricity and converting CO 2 into value-added products. It`s highly desired to obtain acetic acid via CO 2 RR since it`s an important chemical feedstock and high energy-density liquid fuel. However, developing highly efficient electrocatalysts for selective CO 2 RR toward acetate remains formidable challenge. We report an interface engineering strategy to modify copper nanocubes with polyoxometalate (POM) to generate Cu–O–Mo interface as active sites for CO 2 RR, achieving state-of-the-art activity with 48.68% acetate formation Faradaic efficiency and current density of ∼110 mA cm −2 at -1.13 V vs RHE. DFT calculations suggest the interface of Cu planes and polyoxometalate clusters with abundant Cu–O–Mo active sites promote the generation of *CH 3 and successive coupling with CO 2 insertion, showing a potential dependence of acetate production. This work provides a Cu–O–Mo interface model for the rational design of earth-abundant metal based electrocatalysts for CO 2 RR and other renewable energy conversions.