Cyclic voltammetry activation of magnetron sputtered copper–zinc bilayer catalysts for electrochemical CO2 reduction

Electrocatalytic CO2 reduction is regarded as one of the most promising strategies for converting CO2 to valuable chemicals or fuels. However, developing efficient catalysts for enhanced multi-carbon production at industrial current densities is still a great challenge. Herein, we report a novel method to prepare bimetallic Cu–Zn catalysts for electrocatalytic CO2 reduction using magnetron sputtering and subsequent electrochemical cyclic voltammetry treatment. Due to the increase of the Cu–Zn interface and the shortening of mass transfer distance, the bimetallic Cu–Zn catalysts showed a faradaic efficiency (FE) of 29.3% for ethanol production at a current density of −250 mA cm−2 when testing in a flow cell. Our work provides a new strategy for the design and synthesis of bimetallic catalysts for electrocatalysis.