The electrocatalytic CO₂ reduction reaction (ECO₂RR) is a crucial process for converting CO₂ into value-added chemicals. Achieving high efficiency in the synthesis of ethane through the ECO₂RR remains a challenging task. In this work, we developed a Cu₂₊₁O species combined with Zn(OH)₂ loaded on a copper foam catalyst, denoted as Zn(OH)₂/Cu₂₊₁O/CF, presenting a lamellar structure, which offers high selectivity to ethane at low overpotentials. Typically, at −0.3 V (vs. RHE), the catalyst showed high activity, excellent stability, and a high ethane faradaic efficiency(FE_C2H6) of 67.8% with a current density of 5.56 mA cm⁻² in 0.1 M KCl electrolyte. The FE_C2H6 still reached 25.4% with a higher current density of 29.40 mA cm⁻² at −0.5 V (vs. RHE). These values are much higher than those of state-of-the-art catalysts for ethane formation at low overpotentials. The catalytic performances were derived from the metal defects in Cu₂₊₁O offering abundant Cu⁺ and Cu²⁺ valent species, which could be stabilized by the Zn(OH)₂. They achieved excellent stability in a long-term operation for three days. The catalytic performances and catalyst's structure were systemically investigated via diverse characterization techniques, and the formation of ethane involved *CO, *COOH, and *CO–*CH₂ intermediates, which were confirmed by using in situ Raman tests and DFT calculations. This work offers an essential reference in designing and constructing efficient Cu-based catalysts with stable Cu⁺ and Cu²⁺ valences, especially in reactions such as electrolytic CO₂ reduction.

中文翻译：

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花瓣状 Zn(OH)2/Cu2+1O/Cu 泡沫催化剂在低过电势下高选择性电催化还原 CO2 为乙烷

电催化CO ₂还原反应(ECO _{2 RR)是将CO 2}转化为增值化学品的关键过程。通过 ECO ₂ RR实现乙烷合成的高效率仍然是一项具有挑战性的任务。在这项工作中，我们开发了一种与Zn(OH) ₂负载在泡沫铜催化剂上的Cu _{2+1 O物种，表示为Zn(OH) 2} /Cu ₂₊₁ O/CF，呈现层状结构，这提供了在低过电势下对乙烷具有高选择性。通常，在-0.3 V（相对于RHE）下，催化剂表现出高活性、优异的稳定性以及67.8%的高乙烷法拉第效率（FE _{C 2 H 6} ） ，0.1 M中的电流密度为5.56 mA cm ^-2氯化钾电解质。在-0.5 V（相对于RHE）下，FE _{C 2 H 6}仍达到25.4%，电流密度更高，为29.40 mA cm ^-2 。这些值远高于在低过电势下形成乙烷的最先进催化剂的值。催化性能源自Cu ₂₊₁ O中的金属缺陷提供丰富的Cu ⁺和Cu ²⁺价态物质，其可以被Zn(OH) ₂稳定。他们在三天的长期运行中取得了出色的稳定性。通过多种表征技术系统地研究了催化性能和催化剂结构，乙烷的形成涉及*CO、*COOH和*CO–*CH ₂中间体，并通过原位拉曼测试和DFT计算证实了这一点。这项工作为设计和构建具有稳定Cu ⁺和Cu ²⁺价态的高效铜基催化剂，特别是在电解CO ₂还原等反应中提供了重要的参考。