Figure shows the effect of the coverage of * H (θ * H ) on the binding energy of * COOH. It is clear that as θ * H increases, the binding of * COOH on the catalyst surface becomes increasingly thermodynamically unfavorable. The presence of * OCHO therefore has two important consequences for the selectivity of Ag CO 2 ER catalysts: firstly, * OCHO weakens the binding strength of * H with the catalyst surface, bringing the CO formation pathway to a levelplaying field thermodynamically with the H 2 and HCOO - pathways. Secondly, the lower θ * H as a consequence of the weaker * H binding enables the formation of * COOH, thereby improving the selectivity of the catalyst towards CO. This analysis highlights the importance of the consideration of lateral adsorbate-adsorbate interactions to bridge the discrepancy between theoretical predictions and the experimental observations for Ag as well as other CO 2 ER catalysts. ).