Facile Fabrication of ZIF-67/Cu2O for High-Performance Electrochemical CO2RR to C2H4
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.53469/wjimt.2026.09(05).04Keywords:
Electrochemical CO2 reduction, Composite catalyst, Ethylene, High current densityAbstract
Electrochemical CO2 reduction (ECO2RR) offers a sustainable route to convert CO2 into high-value chemicals, aiding carbon neutrality. Cuprous oxide is a classic catalyst for C2+ products, yet it suffers from weak C–C coupling, severe hydrogen evolution side reactions, and low ethylene selectivity at high current densities. Herein, a ZIF-67/Cu2O composite catalyst was prepared through a facile in-situ growth strategy. Morphological characterization confirms the successful fabrication of a spherical composite with uniform element distribution, abundant active sites and favorable mass transfer pathways. Electrochemical results demonstrate that the introduction of ZIF-67 optimizes the interfacial microenvironment, enhances catalytic activity, and effectively suppresses hydrogen evolution. Benefiting from the synergistic effect between ZIF-67 and Cu2O, the composite delivers greatly improved ethylene selectivity. In a flow electrolyzer, ZIF-67/Cu2O achieves a C2H4 Faradaic efficiency of 40.05% at 800 mA cm-2, which is much higher than that of bare Cu2O. This study presents a feasible strategy for constructing high-performance Cu-based composite catalysts toward high current density CO2-to-ethylene conversion.
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