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In the surroundings of carbon neutrality, nano‐Cu2O is considered a promising catalyst for the electrochemical CO2 reduction reaction (ECO2RR), whose improvements in product selectivity still require considerable efforts. Here, we present an efficient strategy for controlling the ECO2RR product by modifying the surface of nano‐Cu2O, i.e. by controlling the exposed facets via a reductant‐controlled method to achieve the highest C2H4 selectivity (Faradic efficiency=74.1 %) for Cu2O‐based catalysts in neutral electrolytes, and introducing a well‐suited metal–organic framework (MOF) coating on the surface of nano‐Cu2O to obtain syngas completely with an appropriate H2:CO ratio. Detailed mechanism and key intermediate have been illustrated by DFT calculations. Our systematic strategy is expected to control the ECO2RR product, improve the selectivity, and provide a reliable method for CO2 management and the green production of important carbon resources. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: The integration of metal/metal oxide nanoparticles (NPs) into metal–organic frameworks (MOFs) to form composite materials has attracted great interest due to the broad range of applications. However, to date, it has not been possible to encapsulate metastable NPs with high catalytic activity into MOFs, due to their instability during the preparation process. For the first time, we have successfully developed a template protection–sacrifice (TPS) method to encapsulate metastable NPs such as Cu2O into MOFs. SiO2 was used as both a protective shell for Cu2O nanocubes and a sacrificial template for forming a yolk–shell structure. The obtained Cu2O@ZIF‐8 composite exhibits excellent cycle stability in the catalytic hydrogenation of 4‐nitrophenol with high activity. This is the first report of a Cu2O@MOF‐type composite material. The TPS method provides an efficient strategy for encapsulating unstable active metal/metal oxide NPs into MOFs or maybe other porous materials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Silver nanoparticles were successfully supported on the zeolite-type metal-organic framework MIL-101 to yield Ag@MIL-101 by a simple liquid impregnation method. For the first time, the conversion of terminal alkynes into propiolic acids with CO2 was achieved by the use of the Ag@MIL-101 catalysts. Owing to the excellent catalytic activity, the reaction proceeded at atmospheric pressure and low temperature (50 °C). The Ag@MIL-101 porous material is of outstanding bifunctional character as it is capable of simultaneously capturing and converting CO2 with low energy consumption and can be recovered easily by centrifugation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]