Solid-phase synthesis of ultra-small CuMo solid solution alloy for efficient electroreduction CO2-to-C2+ production

We report a fascinating solid-phase synthesis of ultra-small CuMo solid solution alloy nanoclusters (2.1 nm) anchored on electrospun carbon nanofibers (CuMo/CNFs). By tuning the weight ratio of Cu and Mo, the optimized Cu2Mo1/CNFs achieves excellent CO2RR performance with a high faradaic efficiency (FE) of 84.5% for C2+ products and an FEethanol of 75.7%. In situ characterization demonstrates that the Cu2Mo1 alloy can strengthen the adsorption of the crucial intermediate and promote C-C coupling, leading to high selectivity and efficiency for C2+ products.

Automated summary

We present a solid-phase synthesis of ultra-small CuMo solid solution alloy nanoclusters (2.1 nm) anchored on electrospun carbon nanofibers (CuMo/CNFs). The optimized Cu2Mo1/CNFs exhibit excellent CO2RR performance, achieving a high faradaic efficiency (FE) of 84.5% for C2+ products and an FE of 75.7% for ethanol. In situ characterization reveals that the Cu2Mo1 alloy enhances the adsorption of the crucial intermediate and promotes C-C coupling, leading to high selectivity and efficiency for C2+ products.