Selective carbon dioxide electroreduction to ethylene and ethanol by core-shell copper/cuprous oxide

Developing an effective catalyst to reduce carbon dioxide (CO2) to value-added C2+ products is a key challenge for CO2 utilization. Here we report a core-shell copper with native oxide (Cu@Cu2O) catalyst featuring a thin native oxide layer on the surface grown under ambient conditions. The Cu(I) oxide species on Cu@Cu2O surface remained relatively stable against reduction under CO2 electroreduction condition, and the synergism between surface Cu+ and Cu0 in Cu@Cu2O contributed to boosting its efficiency and selectivity toward C2 products. This Cu@Cu2O catalyst achieved an excellent selectivity (∼50% at -1.0 V vs reversible hydrogen electrode) for C2 (ethylene and ethanol) production.