Insights into Bimetallic Ag2Cu2O3 Precatalyst for Electrochemical CO2 Reduction to Ethanol

The electrochemical CO2 reduction reaction (CO2RR) into valuable chemicals represents an effective approach for realizing carbon neutralization goals. Copper oxide-derived catalysts are particularly promising due to their tunable electronic structures. In this study, we focused on investigating the Ag2Cu2O3 model catalyst and a mixture of CuO and Ag2O with an identical metal molar ratio (denoted an as M-CuAgO). Electrochemical CO2RR tests revealed that Ag2Cu2O3 exhibited selectivity towards ethanol, while M-CuAgO showed no selectivity towards multi-carbon products. Characterizations of the post-reaction materials showed differences in the specific crystal structures of the two catalysts. Further X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) analysis demonstrated that the Ag2Cu2O3 structure, after the reaction, facilitated the transfer of electrons from Cu to Ag, thereby promoting the formation of multi-carbon products. This work underscores the significance of structural design in precatalysts and opens up new avenues for the design of high-performance catalysts.