Cu/Cu2O Nanoparticles Supported on Vertically ZIF-L-Coated Nitrogen-Doped Graphene Nanosheets for Electroreduction of CO2 to Ethanol

Metal-organic framework (MOF)-derived nanomaterials provide outstanding catalytic activities for CO2 electroreduction due to their large surface area, tunable geometric structures, and controllable pore size. Herein, we develop a Cu/Cu2O nanocomposite loaded on the surface of carbon derived from direct carbonization of two-dimensional cross-like zeolitic imidazolate framework-L coated vertically on graphene oxide (Cu GNC-VL). The as-synthesized catalyst presented an excellent faradaic efficiency of 70.52% and current density of 10.4 mA cm(-2) at -0.87 V versus the reversible hydrogen electrode, which benefits from the synergy between CO2 asymmetric chemical adsorption on Cu(111) and favorable kinetics and thermodynamics of C-C coupling on Cu2O(111). This study presents a strategy for the rational design and multiple-pathway modulation of the geometry structure of MOF-derived catalysts.