Hetero-Solvent Microenvironment for Selective CO2 to Ethanol Electrolysis via Interfacial Water Control
Corresponding Author: Chanyeon Kim
Nano-Micro Letters,
Vol. 18 (2026), Article Number: 423
Abstract
Electrochemical reduction of carbon dioxide (CO2RR) offers a route for sustainable chemical production using water as a clean proton source. However, water also promotes the competing hydrogen evolution reaction, limiting CO2RR performance. Here we establish interfacial water as a decisive but overlooked design parameter for selective CO2-to-ethanol electrolysis. A hetero-solvent microenvironment confining diglyme (DiG) near the Cu catalyst substantially suppresses HER under both neutral and alkaline conditions, where protons are supplied via water dissociation. In situ infrared absorption spectroscopy and theoretical calculation results reveal that DiG strengthens the hydrogen-bonding network of interfacial water, reducing free-water population prone to dissociation. Concurrently, the modulated water network effectively hinders solvent-mediated hydrogenation that favors ethylene formation, thereby promoting ethanol formation. Because this strategy modulates the microenvironment rather than the catalyst, it readily extends to Cu–Ag bimetallic catalyst. Moreover, confining hetero-solvent within microenvironment rather than in the bulk electrolyte enables high-current operation at low cell voltages, achieving an ethanol partial current density of 184.2 mA cm−2 at 3.6 V under neutral condition.
Highlights:
1 A hetero-solvent-confined microenvironment regulates interfacial water during CO2 electrolysis on Cu, substantially suppressing hydrogen evolution by inhibiting water dissociation.
2 Inhibited water dissociation suppresses ethylene formation, which requires solvent-mediated hydrogenation, thereby steering selectivity toward ethanol.
3 This strategy is readily extended to Cu–Ag catalyst, enabling record-high ethanol production under neutral conditions while minimizing cell voltage by confining hetero-solvent within microenvironment rather than bulk electrolyte.
Keywords
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