Highly efficient ethylene production via electrocatalytic hydrogenation of acetylene under mild conditions

Renewable energy-based electrocatalytic hydrogenation of acetylene to ethylene (E-HAE) under mild conditions is an attractive substitution to the conventional energy-intensive industrial process, but is challenging due to its low Faradaic efficiency caused by competitive hydrogen evolution reaction. Herein, we report a highly efficient and selective E-HAE process at room temperature and ambient pressure over the Cu catalyst. A high Faradaic efficiency of 83.2% for ethylene with a current density of 29 mA cm −2 is reached at −0.6 V vs. the reversible hydrogen electrode. In-situ spectroscopic characterizations combined with first-principles calculations reveal that electron transfer from the Cu surface to adsorbed acetylene induces preferential adsorption and hydrogenation of the acetylene over hydrogen formation, thus enabling a highly selective E-HAE process through the electron-coupled proton transfer mechanism. This work presents a feasible route for high-efficiency ethylene production from E-HAE. This work achieves highly active and selective electrocatalytic hydrogenation of acetylene to ethylene (HAE) under mild conditions over Cu catalyst to replace the classic thermocatalytic HAE route requiring harsh conditions and costly H 2 .