Synergistic Electroconversion of CO₂‐to‐n‐Propanol Over Atomically Dispersed Lewis Acid Zr‐Doped Cu^δ+ Catalysts

Abstract

Abstract Electrochemical carbon dioxide reduction to n‐propanol, a high‐energy‐density C 3 chemical, presents a promising method for the long‐term storage of renewable electricity. However, the C 1 ‐C 2 coupling step, crucial for C 3 conversion, suffers from low selectivity and sluggish conversion rate. In this study, a strategy is proposed to regulate the adsorption of C 2 active species on Cu by introducing an atomically dispersed Zr, which can effectively enhance the electroreduction of CO 2 to n‐propanol. In situ infrared spectroscopy and theoretical studies unveil that the introduce of atomically dispersed Zr modulates the adsorption configuration of * C 2 intermediates and strengtnens the binding with * C 2 intermediates, thus lowing the energy barrier of the C 1 –C 2 coupling process and accelerating the conversion efficiency. This novel catalyst achieves a n‐propanol Faradaic efficiency of 14.4 ± 0.3% and a high production rate of 70.0 ± 1.0 mA cm −2 , comparable to the best reported values of the CO 2 ‐to‐propanol electroconversion. This study highlights the effectiveness of designing synergistic electrocatalysts to boost the production of high‐value energy products, providing a promising path toward achieving carbon neutrality.