Superlattice electrocatalysis matching microbial metabolism for sustainable CO2-to-bioproduct conversion

IF 19.6 1区化学 Q1 CHEMISTRY, MULTIDISCIPLINARY

Chem Pub Date : 2026-03-19 DOI:10.1016/j.chempr.2026.102955

Miao Liu, Yanfeng Shi, Hao Shi, Peilin Huang, Lupeng Wang, Zhujun Fu, Tianming Wu, Yuanhong Xu

{"title":"Superlattice electrocatalysis matching microbial metabolism for sustainable CO2-to-bioproduct conversion","authors":"Miao Liu, Yanfeng Shi, Hao Shi, Peilin Huang, Lupeng Wang, Zhujun Fu, Tianming Wu, Yuanhong Xu","doi":"10.1016/j.chempr.2026.102955","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"The integrated electrochemical-microbial system (iEMS) is a promising strategy for converting CO2 into high-value bioproducts. However, the mismatch in the carbon species and flux between electrocatalysis and microbial metabolism hinders its overall efficiency. Herein, we develop a scalable Ag/Cu metal superlattice (MSL@Ag/Cu) electrocatalyst with a periodic electric-potential gradient, which enables the selective and stable production of microbe-biased ethanol substrate and maintains carbon flux for the iEMS. The directional Ag/Cu configuration causes a spatial confinement effect, which enriches and holds the key intermediates for sustainable C–C coupling. MSL@Ag/Cu achieves a high Faradaic efficiency of ethanol (>61.1%) and maintains this efficiency for over 220 h at 200 mA cm−2 in an industrial electrolyzer. This long-term ethanol yield (160 mmol L−1) with indispensable carbon flux of Saccharomyces cerevisiae enables the breakthrough conversion of CO2 to bioproducts. Techno-economic analysis indicates that the iEMS generates a profit of $15.5 million per year, which is 15-fold that of traditional electrocatalytic synthesis.","PeriodicalId":268,"journal":{"name":"Chem","volume":"33 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":19.6000,"publicationDate":"2026-03-19","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Chem","FirstCategoryId":"92","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chempr.2026.102955","RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"化学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q1","JCRName":"CHEMISTRY, MULTIDISCIPLINARY","Score":null,"Total":0}

引用次数: 0

Abstract

The integrated electrochemical-microbial system (iEMS) is a promising strategy for converting CO₂ into high-value bioproducts. However, the mismatch in the carbon species and flux between electrocatalysis and microbial metabolism hinders its overall efficiency. Herein, we develop a scalable Ag/Cu metal superlattice (MSL@Ag/Cu) electrocatalyst with a periodic electric-potential gradient, which enables the selective and stable production of microbe-biased ethanol substrate and maintains carbon flux for the iEMS. The directional Ag/Cu configuration causes a spatial confinement effect, which enriches and holds the key intermediates for sustainable C–C coupling. MSL@Ag/Cu achieves a high Faradaic efficiency of ethanol (>61.1%) and maintains this efficiency for over 220 h at 200 mA cm⁻² in an industrial electrolyzer. This long-term ethanol yield (160 mmol L⁻¹) with indispensable carbon flux of Saccharomyces cerevisiae enables the breakthrough conversion of CO₂ to bioproducts. Techno-economic analysis indicates that the iEMS generates a profit of $15.5 million per year, which is 15-fold that of traditional electrocatalytic synthesis.

Abstract Image

查看原文本刊更多论文

超晶格电催化与微生物代谢相匹配，实现二氧化碳到生物产品的可持续转化

集成电化学-微生物系统（iEMS）是将二氧化碳转化为高价值生物产品的一种很有前途的策略。然而，电催化与微生物代谢之间的碳种类和通量的不匹配阻碍了其整体效率。在此，我们开发了一种具有周期性电势梯度的可扩展银/铜金属超晶格（MSL@Ag/Cu）电催化剂，该催化剂能够选择性和稳定地生产微生物偏向的乙醇底物，并保持iEMS的碳通量。Ag/Cu的定向构型产生了空间约束效应，丰富并保持了碳-碳持续耦合的关键中间体。MSL@Ag/Cu实现了乙醇的高法拉第效率（>61.1%），并在工业电解槽中在200毫安厘米−2下保持该效率超过220小时。这种长期的乙醇产量（160 mmol L−1）与酿酒酵母必不可少的碳通量，使二氧化碳转化为生物产品的突破。技术经济分析表明，iEMS每年产生1550万美元的利润，是传统电催化合成的15倍。

本文章由计算机程序翻译，如有差异，请以英文原文为准。

求助全文

约1分钟内获得全文求助全文

来源期刊

Chem Environmental Science-Environmental Chemistry

CiteScore

32.40

自引率

1.30%

发文量

281

期刊介绍： Chem, affiliated with Cell as its sister journal, serves as a platform for groundbreaking research and illustrates how fundamental inquiries in chemistry and its related fields can contribute to addressing future global challenges. It was established in 2016, and is currently edited by Robert Eagling.