Enhancing CO diffusion for selective acetate production via CO reduction on copper catalyst

The productivity of multi-carbon products in electrocatalytic CO reduction is greatly influenced by the local concentration of CO. Herein, we present a facile strategy for modulating the local concentration of CO under atmospheric pressure via polymer coating, which enables selective, active and stable production of acetate on a Cu model-catalyst. Specifically, we coat the Cu-catalyst with a fluorinated polymer, forming an optimized gas involving reaction interface. This approach enhances the CO diffusion to catalyst surfaces and increases the hydrophobicity of the catalyst layer, resulting in enhanced acetate selectivity of over 50% with a high partial current density of-0.65 A cm-2 on Cu-catalyst. This represents an over 3 folders of enhancement compared to the pristine Cu-catalyst. Furthermore, this optimized reaction interface led to a stable COR electrolysis over a duration of 70 h. Our strategy offers valuable insights for designing efficient catalytic interface in various electrochemical reactions that involve gas diffusion.