@article{Li2026, 
author = {Zong Li and Kaifeng Niu and Kaili Ni and Yuan Rui and Miaohui Wang and Yuan Liang and Wenju Gu and Bowen Zhao and Wenbing Wang and Haiping Lin and Johanna Rosen and Jonas Björk and Peipei Huang and Qing Li},
title = {Selective n-propanol electrosynthesis from CO2 by promoting C1−C2 coupling between *CO and *OC2H5 intermediates over ultrastable sites at Cu(111)/Cu2O(111) phase boundaries},
year = {2026},
journal = {Nano Research},
volume = {19},
number = {12},
pages = {94909036},
keywords = {CO2 electroreduction, phase boundary, coordination-unsaturated sites, C1−C2 coupling, n-PrOH},
url = {https://www.sciopen.com/article/10.26599/NR.2026.94909036},
doi = {10.26599/NR.2026.94909036},
abstract = {Electrochemical CO2 reduction (eCO2RR) toward n-propanol (n-PrOH) is a promising strategy for the efficient utilization of renewable electricity and the achievement of carbon neutrality. However, both the catalytic activity and selectivity for n-PrOH production are still unsatisfactory and the underlying mechanism remains to be fully elucidated. Herein, we demonstrate phase boundary-rich copper catalysts (Cu(T)-600-320) for enhanced eCO2RR-to-n-PrOH performance via facilitating the coupling between key intermediates of *CO and *OC2H5. Catalytically active sites at Cu(111)/Cu2O(111) phase boundaries on Cu(T)-600-320 are ultrastable for the eCO2RR under industrial-level current density conditions, even without any external regulators. In the flow cell, the n-PrOH Faradaic efficiency reaches 19.3% with a high partial current density of 77.2 mA·cm−2 at −0.88 V versus reversible hydrogen electrode, outperforming the performance of most reported catalysts. In situ spectroscopy studies, control experiments, and density functional theory calculations unambiguously elucidate that n-PrOH is generated via the *CO + *OC2H5 → *OCHCH2CH3 pathway over Cu(T)-600-320. This work offers new insights into the rational design of high-performance copper-based catalysts targeting C3 products generation via eCO2RR.}
}