Electrochemical reduction of CO 2 to chemicals and fuels is an interesting and attractive way to mitigate greenhouse gas emissions and energy shortages. In this work, we report the use of atomic In catalysts for CO 2 electroreduction to CO. The atomic In catalysts were anchored on N-doped carbon (In A /NC) through pyrolysis of In-based metal−organic frameworks (MOFs) and dicyandiamide. It was discovered that In A /NC had outstanding performance for selective CO production in the mixed electrolyte of ionic liquid/ MeCN. It is different from those common In-based materials, in which formate/ formic acid is formed as the main product. The faradaic efficiency (FE) of CO and total current density were 97.2% and 39.4 mA cm -2 , respectively, with a turnover frequency (TOF) of ∼40 000 h −1 . It is one of the highest TOF for CO production to date for all of the catalysts reported. In addition, the catalyst had remarkable stability. Detailed study indicated that In A /NC had higher double-layer capacitance, larger CO 2 adsorption capacity, and lower interfacial charge transfer resistance, leading to high activity for CO 2 reduction. Control experiments and theoretical calculations showed that the In−N site of In A /NC is not only beneficial for dissociation of COOH* to form CO but also hinders formate formation, leading to high selectivity toward CO instead of formate.

Using renewable electricity to drive CO2 electroreduction is an attractive way to achieve carbon‐neutral energy cycle and produce value‐added chemicals and fuels. As an important platform molecule and clean fuel, methanol requires 6‐electron transfer in the process of CO2 reduction. Currently, CO2 electroreduction to methanol suffers from poor efficiency and low selectivity. Herein, we report the first work to design atomically dispersed Sn site anchored on defective CuO catalysts for CO2 electroreduction to methanol. It exhibits high methanol Faradaic efficiency (FE) of 88.6 % with a current density of 67.0 mA cm−2 and remarkable stability in a H‐cell, which is the highest FE(methanol) with such high current density compared with the results reported to date. The atomic Sn site, adjacent oxygen vacancy and CuO support cooperate very well, leading to higher double‐layer capacitance, larger CO2 adsorption capacity and lower interfacial charge transfer resistance. Operando experiments and density functional theory calculations demonstrate that the catalyst is beneficial for CO2 activation via decreasing the energy barrier of *COOH dissociation to form *CO. The obtained key intermediate *CO is then bound to the Cu species for further reduction, leading to high selectivity toward methanol.

A protein denaturant deep eutectic solvent to exfoliate natural silk fibers into nanofibrils for multifunctional membranes with enhanced properties.

CO2 electroreduction is of great significance to reduce CO2 emissions and complete the carbon cycle. However, the unavoidable carbonate formation and low CO2 utilization efficiency in neutral or alkaline electrolytes hinder its application at commercial scale. The development of CO2 reduction under acidic conditions provides a promising strategy, but the inhibition of the hydrogen evolution reaction is difficult. Herein, the first work to design a Ni–Cu dual atom catalyst supported on hollow nitrogen‐doped carbon is reported for pH‐universal CO2 electroreduction to CO. The catalyst shows a high CO Faradaic efficiency of ≈99% in acidic, neutral, and alkaline electrolytes, and the partial current densities of CO reach 190 ± 11, 225 ± 10, and 489 ± 14 mA cm−2, respectively. In particular, the CO2 utilization efficiency under acidic conditions reaches 64.3%, which is twice as high as that of alkaline conditions. Detailed study indicates the existence of electronic interaction between Ni and Cu atoms. The Cu atoms push the Ni d‐band center further toward the Fermi level, thereby accelerating the formation of *COOH. In addition, operando characterizations and density functional theory calculation are used to elucidate the possible reaction mechanism of CO2 to CO under acidic and alkaline electrolytes.

CO2 is an abundant and renewable C1 feedstock. Electrochemical transformation of CO2 can integrate CO2 fixation with renewable electricity storage, providing an avenue to close the anthropogenic carbon cycle. As a new type of green and chemically tailorable solvents, ionic liquids (ILs) have been proposed as the highly promising alternatives for conventional electrolytes in electrochemical CO2 conversion. This review summarizes major advances in the electrochemical transformation of CO2 into value-added carbonic fuels and chemicals in IL-based media in the past several years. Both the direct CO2 electroreduction (CO2ER) and CO2-involved electroorganic transformation (CO2EOT) are discussed, focusing on the effect of electrocatalysts, IL components, reactor configurations, and operating conditions on the catalytic activity, selectivity, and reusability. The reasons for the enhanced CO2 conversion performance by ILs are also discussed, which provides guidance for the rational design of novel IL-based electrochemical processes for CO2 conversion. Finally, the critical challenges remaining in this research area and promising directions for future research are proposed.

Developing electrocatalytic reactions with high-efficiency can make important contributions to carbon neutrality. However, poor long-term stability of catalysts is a bottleneck for its practical application. Herein, an "in situ periodic regeneration of catalyst (PR-C)" strategy is proposed to give long-term high efficiency of CO 2 electroreduction to generate C 2 + products over Cu catalyst by applying a positive potential pulse for a short time periodically in the halide-containing electrolyte. The high Faradaic efficiency (81.2 %) and current density (22.6 mA cm À 2 ) could be maintained completely at least 36 h, while the activity and selectivity decreased continuously without using the PR-C method. Control experiments and operando characterization demonstrated that the surface structure and oxidation state of Cu could be recovered periodically by the PR-C method, which was beneficial for CO 2 activation and CÀ C coupling.

With typical nanofibrous structure, silks spun by silkworms and spiders are the representative fibrous proteins that embody excellent mechanical properties and biological functions. However, it is still a challenge to directly extract silk nanofibers (SNFs) from natural silk fibers, to retain their nanostructures and properties, by a human‐ and environment‐friendly approach for practical applications. Here, an all‐natural strategy for simple, green, and scalable extraction of silkworm and spider silk protein nanofibers in natural deep eutectic solvents has been developed. The liquid‐exfoliated SNFs have adjustable diameters from 20 nm (at the single SNF scale) to 100 nm and could be dispersed in water and organic solvents, enabling the production of useful macroscopic biomaterials. The free‐standing SNF membranes made from silkworm silk nanofibers (SSNFs) exhibited cytocompatibility, flexibility, and excellent mechanical performance, providing the ability to fabricate sustainable materials for tissue engineering and green electronics. Moreover, the SSNF could be used as a green and efficient dispersant of multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs), and the SSNFs/MWCNTs nanocomposite membranes could be used in wearable devices to monitor human activities.

The electrocatalytic CO2 reduction reaction (CO2RR) to C2+ products is of great importance. It is known that the co-operation of Cu1+ and Cu0 in the catalysts can yield high Faradaic...