Enhanced Ethylene Production from Electrocatalytic Acetylene Semi-hydrogenation Over Porous Carbon-Supported Cu Nanoparticles

Electrocatalytic semi-hydrogenation of acetylene (C2H2) over copper nanoparticles (Cu NPs) offers a promising non-petroleum alternative for the green production of ethylene (C2H4). However, server hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) competition in this process prominently decreases C2H4 selectivity, thereby hindering its practical application. Herein, a Cu-based composite catalyst, wherein porous carbon with nanoscale pores was used as a support, is constructed to gather the C2H2 feedstocks for suppressing the undesirable HER. As a result, the as-prepared catalyst exhibited C2H2 conversion of 27.1% and C2H4 selectivity of 88.4% at a C2H4 partial current density of 0.25 A/cm2 under optimal - 1.0 V versus reversible hydrogen electrode (RHE) under the simulated coal-derived C2H2 atmosphere, significantly outperforming the single Cu NPs counterparts. In addition, a series of in situ and ex situ experimental results show that not only the porous nature of the carbon support but also the stabilized Cu0-Cu+ dual active sites through the strong metal-support interactions enhance the adsorption capacity of C2H2, leading to high C2H2 partial pressure, restraining the HER and thus improving the C2H4 selectivity.