Target High-Efficient Ethylene Production from Dilute CO

The electrochemical CO2 reduction reaction (CO2RR) exhibits significant potential to efficiently convert CO2 into ethylene (C2H4). However, achieving high C2H4 selectivity remains a considerable challenge due to the difficulty in effective C─C coupling and stringent requirements on CO2 purity. Herein, a novel contact-electro-catalysis method for CO2RR is presented by constructing dual-active-site catalysts on the electronegative tribolayer of a triboelectric nanogenerator (TENG), including single copper atom anchored polymeric carbon nitride (Cu─PCN) and CuO nanoparticle, achieving an outstanding C2H4 Faradaic efficiency of 63.5% in dilute CO2. Experimental and theoretical studies indicate that Cu─PCN active sites exhibit the ability to heighten *H adsorption and facilitate its migration into CuO nanoparticles. This process effectively modulates the coverage of *H on CuO and promotes the transformation of *CO into *CHO. Subsequently, *CHO undergoes dimerization on the CuO surface, ultimately yielding C2H4. Furthermore, the electric field generated by the TENG enhances the coverage of *H and *CO on both the Cu─PCN and CuO surfaces, which subsequently reduces the energy barrier for C─C coupling. This work provides a new route to enhance the selective reduction of CO2 to C2H4 by integrating contact electrocatalysis with dual active site technologies.