Perovskite-driven solar C 2 hydrocarbon synthesis from CO 2

Andrei, Virgil [University of California, Berkeley, CA (United States); Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States); Univ. of Cambridge (United Kingdom)] (ORCID:0000000269144841); Roh, Inwhan [University of California, Berkeley, CA (United States); Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States)] (ORCID:0000000173374458); Lin, Jia-An [University of California, Berkeley, CA (United States); Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States)] (ORCID:0000000199974697); Lee, Joshua [University of California, Berkeley, CA (United States)]; Shan, Yu [University of California, Berkeley, CA (United States)] (ORCID:0000000281658407); Lin, Chung-Kuan [University of California, Berkeley, CA (United States)]; Shelton, Steve [Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States). Molecular Foundry]; Reisner, Erwin [Univ. of Cambridge (United Kingdom)] (ORCID:0000000277811616); Yang, Peidong [University of California, Berkeley, CA (United States); Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States); Kavli Energy NanoScience Institute, Berkeley, CA (United States)] (ORCID:0000000347991684)

doi:10.1038/s41929-025-01292-y

DOE OSTI · 2531216

Perovskite-driven solar C 2 hydrocarbon synthesis from CO 2

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Abstract

Photoelectrochemistry (PEC) presents a direct pathway to solar fuel synthesis by integrating light absorption and catalysis into compact electrodes. Yet, PEC hydrocarbon production remains elusive due to high catalytic overpotentials and insufficient semiconductor photovoltage. Here we demonstrate ethane and ethylene synthesis by interfacing lead halide perovskite photoabsorbers with suitable copper nanoflower electrocatalysts. The resulting perovskite photocathodes attain a 9.8% Faradaic yield towards C 2 hydrocarbon production at 0 V against the reversible hydrogen electrode. The catalyst and perovskite geometric surface areas strongly influence C 2 photocathode selectivity, which indicates a role of local current density in product distribution. The thermodynamic limitations of water oxidation are overcome by coupling the photocathodes to Si nanowire photoanodes for glycerol oxidation. These unassisted perovskite–silicon PEC devices attain partial C 2 hydrocarbon photocurrent densities of 155 µA cm -2 , 200-fold higher than conventional perovskite–BiVO 4 artificial leaves for water and CO 2 splitting. These insights establish perovskite semiconductors as a versatile platform towards PEC multicarbon synthesis.

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Andrei, Virgil [University of California, Berkeley, CA (United States); Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States); Univ. of Cambridge (United Kingdom)] (ORCID:0000000269144841), Roh, Inwhan [University of California, Berkeley, CA (United States); Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States)] (ORCID:0000000173374458), Lin, Jia-An [University of California, Berkeley, CA (United States); Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States)] (ORCID:0000000199974697), Lee, Joshua [University of California, Berkeley, CA (United States)], Shan, Yu [University of California, Berkeley, CA (United States)] (ORCID:0000000281658407), Lin, Chung-Kuan [University of California, Berkeley, CA (United States)], Shelton, Steve [Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States). Molecular Foundry], Reisner, Erwin [Univ. of Cambridge (United Kingdom)] (ORCID:0000000277811616), Yang, Peidong [University of California, Berkeley, CA (United States); Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States); Kavli Energy NanoScience Institute, Berkeley, CA (United States)] (ORCID:0000000347991684). 2025-02-03. Perovskite-driven solar C 2 hydrocarbon synthesis from CO 2. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41929-025-01292-y

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