Abstract
Ethylene (C(2)H(4)), a cornerstone of the chemical industry, is produced predominantly via fossil-intensive high-temperature processes that contribute significantly to global energy consumption and CO(2) emissions. Here, we report an ambient bipolar C(2)H(4) electrosynthesis system that concurrently decarboxylates propanoic acid, a prevalent biorefinery waste, at nanoporous Pt microparticles-coated anode and reduces CO(2) at W-doped CuO(x)-loaded cathode. Physicochemical and operando spectroscopy characterizations, along with theoretical modeling reveal that the polarized Pt-PtO(2) interface formed in situ downshifts the d-band relative to Fermi level which favors the desorption of *CH(2)CH(2) intermediate to promote selective propanoic acid decarboxylation toward C(2)H(4). Remarkably, the resulting electrocatalyst couple delivers an unprecedented C(2)H(4) faradaic efficiency (FE(C2H4)) of 118.7% and a large current density of 1000 mA cm(-2), and sustains a FE(C2H4) exceeding 103.4% for over 265 h at an industrial current density of 400 mA cm(-2), offering a promising pathway to carbon-neutral C(2)H(4) production from waste feedstocks.