Corn-shaped nanowires turn CO2 into valuable ethylene with unprecedented efficiency
image: This illustration depicts the structure of the novel “corn-shaped” AgPd@Cu nanowire. The AgPd alloy core efficiently generates carbon monoxide (CO) from CO2. The rough, nanoparticle-based copper shell then traps this CO, creating a high local concentration that drives the carbon-carbon coupling reaction, ultimately producing ethylene (C2H4) with high efficiency and selectivity.
Credit: Nano Research, Tsinghua University Press
The urgent need to mitigate climate change has spurred global research into technologies that can capture and utilize carbon dioxide (CO2). Electrocatalytic reduction, which uses renewable electricity to convert CO2 into valuable chemicals, stands out as a promising solution. However, a major challenge has been efficiently producing multi-carbon products like ethylene, a fundamental building block for plastics and chemicals.
Silver-based catalysts are excellent at producing carbon monoxide (CO) from CO2, but they struggle to form the essential carbon-carbon (C-C) bonds needed for more valuable multi-carbon products like ethylene. Now, a research team from Central South University in China has broken through this limitation by designing a unique nanomaterial.
In a study published in Nano Research on January 8, 2026, the team introduced “corn-shaped” AgPd@Cu core-shell nanowires. This novel catalyst enables a critical shift in the reaction pathway, efficiently transforming CO2 into ethylene rather than just CO.
“The sluggish kinetics of C-C coupling is the primary bottleneck in CO2 electroreduction,” said Min Liu, a senior author of the study and a professor at Central South University. “Our corn-shaped architecture directly addresses this by creating a nanoreactor that not only generates a high local concentration of the key CO intermediate but also provides the perfect active sites for two CO molecules to couple and form ethylene.”
“The synthesis process is ingenious. It begins with creating a two-dimensional template of silver-palladium (AgPd) nanosheets at a liquid-gas interface. Copper (Cu) is then grown epitaxially onto this core.” said Ji-Long Sang, is the first author of this research and is also an assistant researcher at Central South University. “By carefully controlling the copper concentration, we synthesized a rough, uneven shell composed of many small Cu nanoparticles, giving the nanowires their distinctive corn-shaped morphology.”
This structure is key to its success. The AgPd core acts as a highly efficient factory, producing CO molecules. The unique, bumpy Cu shell then traps these CO molecules, creating pockets of extremely high local concentration. Furthermore, the shell's surface is rich in defects, steps, and corners—ideal sites for the C-C coupling reaction to occur.
“Think of the AgPd core as a CO generator and the Cu shell as a specialized workshop where those CO building blocks are assembled into ethylene,” explained Yi Zhang, another corresponding author of the paper. “The corn-like shape, with its high surface area and nanoconfined spaces, ensures the workshop is always well-stocked, dramatically increasing the chance of successful assembly.”
Electrochemical tests confirmed the catalyst’s superior performance. The optimized version, with the composition Cu45Ag28Pd27, achieved a Faradaic efficiency of 38.80% for ethylene at -1.50 V versus the reversible hydrogen electrode (RHE), meaning over a third of the electrical current went directly into producing ethylene. It also demonstrated excellent stability, maintaining its performance over 12 hours of continuous operation.
In-situ infrared spectroscopy provided direct evidence of the proposed mechanism, showing the accumulation of CO intermediates on the Cu shell, a critical prerequisite for C-C coupling. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy further revealed electronic interactions between the core and shell, which fine-tune the catalyst's surface properties to favor ethylene production and suppress competing reactions.
This work offers a generalizable strategy for designing robust, multi-metallic catalysts. By moving beyond simple flat surfaces or smooth shells to complex, three-dimensional architectures, researchers can better control the reaction microenvironment at the nanoscale.
“The ultimate goal is to design electrocatalysts that can selectively produce the specific hydrocarbons and alcohols we need from CO2, moving us closer to a circular carbon economy, Liu said. “Our corn-shaped nanowires represent a significant leap in that direction, proving that sophisticated nanostructure engineering can overcome fundamental catalytic limitations.”
The researchers believe this interfacial engineering approach can be extended to other catalytic systems, opening new avenues for sustainable chemical synthesis and energy storage.
The research team includes Ji-Long Sang, Qing Liu, Yi Zhang, and Min Liu from Central South University.
This work was supported by National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC) (no. 21872048 and 22376222), the Key Research and Development Program of Xinjiang Autonomous Region (No. 2022B02031-1), the Science and Technology lnnovation Program of Hunan Province (2023RC1012), Central South University Research Program of Advanced Interdisciplinary Studies (2023QYJC012). We are grateful for the resources provided by the High-Performance Computing Center of Central South University.
DOI Link:
https://doi.org/10.26599/NR.2025.94908282
About Nano Research
Nano Research is a peer-reviewed, open access, international and interdisciplinary research journal, sponsored by Tsinghua University and the Chinese Chemical Society, published by Tsinghua University Press on the platform SciOpen. It publishes original high-quality research and significant review articles on all aspects of nanoscience and nanotechnology, ranging from basic aspects of the science of nanoscale materials to practical applications of such materials. After 18 years of development, it has become one of the most influential academic journals in the nano field. Nano Research has published more than 1,000 papers every year from 2022, with its cumulative count surpassing 8,000 articles. In 2025 InCites Journal Citation Reports, its 2025 IF is 9.4 (8.3, 5 years), and it continues to be the Q1 area among the four subject classifications. Nano Research Award, established by Nano Research together with TUP and Springer Nature in 2013, and Nano Research Young Innovators (NR45) Awards, established by Nano Research in 2018, have become international academic awards with global influence.