journal article·2026-06-11Open access

Confinement‐Driven CO Spillover in CuAg@MSN Tandem Catalysts Boosts C 2 Selectivity Toward Electrocatalytic CO 2 Reduction

Jiaying Zhang, Junjie Huang, Siying Zhang, Yanjia Cui, Chao Kong, Zijian Peng, Huihui Jiang, Sirui Deng, Zhuoyao Chen, Caili Yang, Ketong He, Zhen Li, Yibing Song, Gongwei Wang, Lin Zhuang

Abstract

ABSTRACT Tandem catalysts represent a promising paradigm for synergistic electrochemical CO 2 reduction (CO 2 RR) to high‐value multi‐carbon (C 2 ) products, yet coordinate regulation of key intermediates to boost C 2 selectivity remains unclear. Herein, a dual‐phase templating coupled with gas‐phase reduction strategy is exploited to fabricate a series of CuAg@MSN tandem catalysts with tunable Cu/Ag mass ratios. A volcano‐type relationship between catalyst composition and C 2 product selectivity is observed, with CuAg@MSN‐3 (15 wt.% Ag, 40 wt.% Cu) delivering the maximum C 2 Faradaic efficiency (FE) of 75.4% at −1.4 V vs RHE. And a high FE of 63.5% and a large partial current density of 330 mA/cm −2 toward C 2 products on CuAg@MSN‐3 at a cell voltage of 4.5 V in a membrane‐electrode assembly (MEA). In situ infrared spectroscopy and density functional theory (DFT) calculations jointly corroborate that CO generated on Ag sites spontaneously spills over and becomes confined within the mesopores of the MSN framework, markedly promoting CO re‐adsorption on adjacent Cu sites and elevating the * CO surface coverage. This intermediate regulation effectively enhances the reaction rate of C─C coupling and consequently boosts C 2 product selectivity. The present work exemplifies a rational, confinement‐guided design of tandem catalysts for steering reaction intermediates toward desired multicarbon products.
Source: crossref · Quality: baseline

Research context

OpenAlex topics: CO2 Reduction Techniques and Catalysts · Ammonia Synthesis and Nitrogen Reduction · Electrocatalysts for Energy Conversion

SciVX discovery tags are terminology-based. OpenAlex topics are source-provided classifications.

Affiliations

College of Chemistry & Chemical Engineering and Key Laboratory for Preparation and Application of Ordered Structural Materials of Guangdong Province Shantou University Shantou China

College of Petroleum and Chemical Engineering Longdong University Qingyang China

College of Chemistry and Molecular Sciences Hubei Key Lab of Electrochemical Power Sources Wuhan University Wuhan China

The Institute for Advanced Studies Wuhan University Wuhan China

Funding

National Natural Science Foundation of China · Natural Science Foundation of Guangdong Province

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