Electrospinning Machine| Metal-organic doublelayer to stabilize selective multicarbon electrosynthesis

Professor Peng Yang from Soochow University: Electrospinning Constructs Metal-Organic Bilayer Structure to Promote Efficient and Stable Multi-Carbon Electrosynthesis

Challenge: Against the backdrop of global carbon cycle imbalance and increasingly severe greenhouse effects, electrochemical CO2 reduction (eCO2R) technology has attracted much attention for its ability to convert CO2 into high-value-added chemicals. However, the key challenge for industrial-scale application lies in improving the stability of gas diffusion electrodes (GDEs) while maintaining their high selectivity for multi-carbon products.

Method: Professor Peng Yang from Soochow University proposed a metal-organic double-layer (MODL) strategy, wrapping a polycationic sheath around copper-coated gas diffusion electrodes via electrospinning technology to regulate the local chemical environment on copper electrodes, advancing this technology toward industrial-scale application.

Innovation 1: The prepared electrode demonstrated a high multi-carbon Faraday efficiency (FE) of 91.2±3.8% in alkaline flow cells and could operate stably for over 300 hours at a current density of 300 mA cm−2.

Innovation 2: In a membrane electrode assembly (MEA) using pure water as the anolyte, the electrode achieved over 50% ethylene Faraday efficiency (operating at 200 mA cm−2 for more than 20 hours).

Innovation 3: This study presents a molecular-level redesign of the electric double layer in eCO2R systems, achieving precisely tunable electrostatic properties and tailored chemical microenvironments, while enabling efficient and stable multi-carbon production using sustainable electrolysis systems.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-025-59025-5