Interfacial Oxygen Vacancy‐Copper Pair Sites on Inverse CeO 2 /Cu Catalyst Enable Efficient CO 2 Electroreduction to Ethanol in Acid

Abstract Renewable electricity‐driven electrochemical reduction of CO 2 offers a promising route for the production of high‐value ethanol. However, the current state of this technology is hindered by low selectivity and productivity, primarily due to a limited understanding of the atomic‐level active sites involved in ethanol formation. Herein, we identify that the interfacial oxygen vacancy‐neighboring Cu (O v ‐Cu) pair sites are the active sites for CO 2 electroreduction to ethanol. A linear correlation between the density of O v ‐Cu pair sites and ethanol productivity is experimentally evidenced. Moreover, a high Faradaic efficiency of 48.5 % and a partial current density of 344.0 mA cm −2 for ethanol…

• NK
  National Key Research and Development Program of China

  Award: No. 2021YFA1502000
• SA
  Science and Technology Innovative Research Team in Higher Educational Institutions of Hunan Province

  Award: No. 2021RC3065
• BA
  Basic and Applied Basic Research Foundation of Guangdong Province

  Award: No. 2024A1515012350