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Abstract This study examines the activity of chemisorbed CO2 species in the microenvironment formed by bifunctional ionic liquids (ILs) in the reactive capture and conversion (RCC) of CO2 to CO on silver. Comparative electroanalytical measurements with imidazolium based ILs were performed to probe the impact of electrostatic interactions, anion and cation basicity, and hydrogen bonding on RCC. Particularly, ILs with 1-ethyl,3-methylimidazolium ([EMIM]+) and 1-ethyl, 2,3-methylimidazolium ([EMMIM]+) cations and aprotic heterocyclic anions of 2-cyanopyrrolide ([2-CNpyr]) and 1,2,4-triazolide ([1,2,4-Triz]) were examined for RCC. It was found that anion–CO2 carbamate complexes facilitate RCC at significantly lower overpotentials compared to cation–CO2 carboxylate complexes. Additionally, [EMIM]+ was found to better stabilize anion–CO2 complexes than [EMMIM]+. Furthermore, it was found that 2-CNpyrH that naturally forms in CO2 absorption competes for electrode surface adsorption with the anion–CO2 carbamate complex, thereby reducing the electrochemical activity of the anion–CO2 complex. These results highlight the importance of IL structure in tuning the interfacial interactions and suggest that ILs with anion-dominated CO2 chemisorption enhances CO2 utilization in RCC applications. 

Abstract Electrochemical CO₂reduction (CO₂RR) on copper (Cu) shows promise for higher‐value products beyond CO. However, challenges such as the limited CO₂solubility, high overpotentials, and the competing hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) in aqueous electrolytes hinder the practical realization. We propose a functionalized ionic liquid (IL) which generates ion‐CO₂adducts and a hydrogen bond donor (HBD) upon CO₂absorption to modulate CO₂RR on Cu in a non‐aqueous electrolyte. As revealed by transient voltammetry, electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS), and in situ surface‐enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) complemented with image charge augmented quantum‐mechanical/molecular mechanics (IC‐QM/MM) computations, a unique microenvironment is constructed. In this microenvironment, the catalytic activity is primarily governed by the IL and HBD concentrations; former controlling the double layer thickness and the latter modulating the local proton availability. This translates to ample CO₂availability, reduced overpotential, and suppressed HER where C₄products are obtained. This study deepens the understanding of electrolyte effects in CO₂RR and the role of IL ions towards electrocatalytic microenvironment design.