Construction of Oxygen Vacancies and Low-Valence Copper Active Sites in CuO via Yb Doping for Efficient Electrocatalytic Reduction of CO₂ to Multi-Carbon Products

CHEN Xinhao; XUE Wenjie; WANG Hui; PANG Xinya; BAI Peijin; LIANG Shuo; LIU Shujing; MA Xiaoli; ZHANG Xuefei; NING Hui

doi:10.11949/0438-1157.20260813

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Construction of Oxygen Vacancies and Low-Valence Copper Active Sites in CuO via Yb Doping for Efficient Electrocatalytic Reduction of CO₂ to Multi-Carbon Products

更新时间：2026-08-17

- Construction of Oxygen Vacancies and Low-Valence Copper Active Sites in CuO via Yb Doping for Efficient Electrocatalytic Reduction of CO₂ to Multi-Carbon Products
- CIESC Journal (2026)
- 作者机构：
  
  1.中国石油大学(华东)化学化工学院，山东青岛 266580
  2.山东亿维新材料有限责任公司山东东营 257000
- 作者简介：
- 基金信息：
- DOI：10.11949/0438-1157.20260813
  CLC： O646
- Received：12 June 2026，
  
  Revised：2026-08-14，
  
  Accepted：17 August 2026，
- 稿件说明：
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CHEN Xinhao, XUE Wenjie, WANG Hui, et al. Construction of Oxygen Vacancies and Low-Valence Copper Active Sites in CuO via Yb Doping for Efficient Electrocatalytic Reduction of CO₂ to Multi-Carbon Products[J/OL]. CIESC Journal, 2026.
DOI：

CHEN Xinhao, XUE Wenjie, WANG Hui, et al. Construction of Oxygen Vacancies and Low-Valence Copper Active Sites in CuO via Yb Doping for Efficient Electrocatalytic Reduction of CO₂ to Multi-Carbon Products[J/OL]. CIESC Journal, 2026. DOI： 10.11949/0438-1157.20260813.

摘要

CuO作为一种典型的CO₂电还原催化剂，其多碳产物选择性不足极大限制了其工业化应用进程。本文利用Yb掺杂方法构建了Yb/CuO

催化剂，系统研究了其催化CO

电还原生成C

产物的性能及构效关系。研究发现：该催化剂在200 mA/cm

的电流密度下，多碳产物法拉第效率从修饰前的55.8%提升至修饰后的73.8%。X射线光电子能谱及密度泛函理论计算证明Yb

离子的引入造成局部电荷重新分布，使得部分Cu位点电子密度升高、Cu的低价特征增强，并伴随氧空位附近未饱和Cu位点的形成。其中富电子Cu位点有利于增强对CO的吸附与活化，提高表面含碳中间体覆盖度；同时，Yb

的亲氧特征和氧空位附近的电子调控作用能够进一步稳定OCCHO中间体，从而降低C-C偶联相关步骤的自由能，促进多碳产物生成。本研究对稀土元素改性铜基催化剂的设计及CO

高效电还原制多碳产物提供了重要理论基础。

Abstract

CuO

as a typical CO₂ electroreduction catalyst

suffers from insufficient selectivity toward multicarbon products

which greatly limits its industrial application. Herein

a Yb/CuO

catalyst was constructed via Yb doping

and its performance for CO₂ electroreduction to C₂ products as well as the structure–activity relationship were systematically investigated. It was found that the catalyst achieves a Faradaic efficiency for multicarbon products of 73.8% at a current density of 200 mA/cm²

increased from 55.8% before modification. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and density function

al theory calculations demonstrate that the introduction of Yb³⁺ ions induces local charge redistribution

leading to increased electron density on some Cu sites

enhanced low-valence character of Cu

and the formation of unsaturated Cu sites near oxygen vacancies. The electron‑rich Cu sites favor the adsorption and activation of CO

thereby increasing the surface coverage of carbon‑containing intermediates. Meanwhile

the oxophilic nature of Yb³⁺ and the electronic modulation near oxygen vacancies further stabilize the OCCHO intermediate

thus lowering the free energy of the C–C coupling steps and promoting the generation of multicarbon products. This study provides an important theoretical basis for the design of rare‑earth‑modified copper‑based catalysts and for the efficient electroreduction of CO₂ to multicarbon products

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