Metal-organic double layer to stabilize selective multi-carbon electrosynthesis

Abstract

Stable operation of the gas diffusion electrodes is key for industrial-scale electrochemical CO₂ reduction (eCO₂R). To enhance the electrolytic stability, we shield the Cu-coated gas diffusion electrode with a polycationic sheath via electrospinning and propose a Metal-Organic Double Layer (MODL) scheme to depict the triphasic interface. The as-fabricated electrode exhibits a high multi-carbon Faradaic efficiency of 91.2 ± 3.8%, along with operational stability for over 300 h at 300 mA cm⁻² in an alkaline flow cell. In a membrane electrode assembly with pure water as the anolyte, it further achieves an ethylene Faradaic efficiency over 50% at 200 mA cm⁻². Mechanistic investigations unveil that replacing hydrated cationic counter ions in the conventional double layer with hydrogen bond-woven polycationic groups in the MODL allows simultaneously tailoring the local electric field and interfacial water structure. This study introduces a molecular-level redesign of the electric double layer in eCO₂R systems, achieving precisely tunable electrostatic characteristics and tailored chemical microenvironments while leveraging sustainable electrolysis systems to enable highly efficient and stable multi-carbon production.