Ceo /Cus Nanoplates Electroreduce Co to Ethanol With Stabilized Cu Species

Copper-based electrocatalysts effectively produce multicarbon (C ) compounds during the electrochemical CO reduction (CO RR). However, big challenges still remain because of the chemically unstable active sites. Here, cerium is used as a self-sacrificing agent to stabilize the Cu of CuS, due to the facile Ce /Ce redox. CeO -modified CuS nanoplates achieve high ethanol selectivity, with FE up to 54% and FE ≈ 75% in a flow cell. Moreover, in situ Raman spectroscopy and in situ Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy indicate that the stable Cu species promote CC coupling step under CO RR. Density functional theory calculations further reveal that the stronger CO adsorption and lower CC coupling energy, which is conducive to the selective generation of ethanol products. This work provides a facile strategy to convert CO into ethanol by retaining Cu species.