Water‐Soluble Metal Phthalocyanines Enable Molecularly Dispersed Heterogeneous Electrochemical CO 2 Conversion

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Authors: Xiangyu Zhang, Shoulong Pan, Yifan Li, Pengfei Li, Zizi Ruan, Qing Bai, Qinglin Jiang, Cheng Zhou, Bing Yang, Liang Yao, Yuguang Ma
Cited by: 1
References: 41

Abstract

ABSTRACT Molecular electrocatalysts offer the prospect of atomically defined active sites and tunable reactivity, yet their integration into heterogeneous systems is frequently hindered by limited site accessibility and reduced catalytic performance. Overcoming molecular aggregation and improving electronic coupling with conductive supports are essential for translating molecular precision into practical electrocatalytic devices. Here we show that water‐soluble, tetrasulfonate‐substituted metallophthalocyanines (MPcTs) spontaneously assemble onto carbon black (CB) through π–π interactions, forming highly dispersed and electronically coupled catalytic sites. The resulting MPcTs/CB catalyst enables highly selective CO 2 ‐to‐CO conversion in aqueous media, affording near‐quantitative Faradaic efficiencies and sustained performance over 60 h of continuous operation. Systematic investigations confirm a heterogeneous electrocatalytic pathway, while optimized flow‐cell configurations deliver current densities up to 500 mA cm − 2 with high CO selectivity. This study demonstrates a simple, generalizable strategy to bridge molecular precision and heterogeneous practicality, advancing the design of scalable, high‐performance molecular electrocatalysts for CO 2 electroreduction in aqueous media.

Fields of Study & Subjects

CO2 Reduction Techniques and Catalysts Carbon dioxide utilization in catalysis Electrocatalysts for Energy Conversion

Publication details

Journal / source
Advanced Science
Publisher
Wiley
Volume
13
Issue
18
Pages
e21145–e21145
Publication date
21 January 2026
Language
EN