Hydrophobic, Ultrastable Cu for Robust CO Electroreduction to C Products at Ampere-Current Levels.

Copper (Cu) is the only known material that can efficiently electrocatalyze CO to value-added multicarbon products. Owing to the instability of the Cu state and microscopic structure in reactions, Cu catalysts are still facing big challenges with low selectivity and poor durability, particularly at high current densities. Herein, we report a rational one-step surface coordination approach for the synthesis of Cu dendrites with an ultrastable Cu state and hydrophobicity (Cu CF), even after exposure to air for over 6 months. As a result, Cu CF exhibited a C FE of 90.6% at a partial current density of 453.3 mA cm in a flow cell. A 400 h stable electrolysis at 800 mA and even a ground-breaking stable operation at a large industrial current of 10 A were achieved in the membrane electrode assembly (MEA) form. We further demonstrated a continuous production of CHOH solution with 90% relative purity at 600 mA over 50 h in a solid-electrolyte reactor. Spectroscopy and computation results suggested that Cu(II) carboxylate coordination species formed on the surface of Cu CF, which ensured the stability of the Cu state and hydrophobicity. As a result, rich active sites and a stable three-phase interface on the catalyst surface were achieved, along with the optimized *CO adsorption strength and adsorption configuration. The mixed *CO adsorption configurations on Cu CF made the *CO dimerization process easier, which promoted the conversion of CO to C products. This work provides a promising paradigm for the design and development of Cu-based catalysts with ultrahigh stability under industrial current densities.