Copper lattice tension boosts full-cell CO electrolysis to multi-carbon olefins and oxygenates

Electrocatalytic upgrading of CO to value-added multi-carbon (C2+) compounds is a promising approach to efficient carbon utilization. However, current full-cell systems have low energy conversion efficiencies under practical conditions due to the requirement of high cell voltages for an industrially relevant current density. Here, we present a lattice tension strategy to enhance CO chemisorption and carbon–carbon coupling on copper catalysts at high CO coverages, which usually cause excessive dipole-dipole repulsion and are detrimental to C–C coupling. A current density of 1.0 A cm−2 with 84% Faradaic efficiency of C2+ compounds is achieved at 2.4 V on a spindle-shaped copper with 4% lattice tension. The C2+ products are formed with nearly 100% selectivity and in a 41% single-pass yield (on a molar carbon basis). This work demonstrates a great potential of electrocatalytic CO reduction for the practical synthesis of high-value chemicals from CO2 and abundant carbon resources.