Charge‐Asymmetric Dual‐Cu Sites in a Metal‐Organic Framework Direct CO 2 Electroreduction to Ethanol
Abstract
RR) to ethanol is constrained by copper's intrinsic kinetic preference for the ethylene-forming *CO→*COH pathway over the ethanol-selective *CO→*CHO route. Conventional solutions break this preference by introducing extrinsic chemical heterogeneity. Herein, we report an approach to generating electronic asymmetry in a homometallic system. The in-situ construction of a chemically bonded interface between a binuclear Cu-MOF and copper foil (cf) induces electron transfer, transforming symmetric Cu dimers into cooperative, charge-asymmetric dual sites. These sites function as a kinetic gate, raising the barrier for *CO→*COH while lowering it for *CO→*CHO to direct selectivity toward ethanol, as confirmed by in-situ spectroscopy and DFT. The findings indicate that interfacial electron redistribution can provide a straightforward means to encode functional asymmetry in homometallic electrocatalysts and to modulate multistep reaction pathways.
Fields of Study & Subjects
CO2 Reduction Techniques and Catalysts
Metal-Organic Frameworks: Synthesis and Applications
Electrocatalysts for Energy Conversion
Publication details
- Journal / source
- Angewandte Chemie International Edition
- Publisher
- Wiley
- Volume
- 65
- Issue
- 17
- Pages
- e25945–e25945
- Publication date
- 10 March 2026
- Language
- EN