Structural Reconstruction of Cu2O Superparticles toward Electrocatalytic CO2 Reduction with High C2+ Products Selectivity

Structural reconstruction is a process commonly observed for Cu-based catalysts in electrochemical CO2 reduction. The Cu-based precatalysts with structural complexity often undergo sophisticated structural reconstruction processes, which may offer opportunities for enhancing the electrosynthesis of multicarbon products (C2+ products) but remain largely uncertain due to various new structural features possibly arising during the processes. In this work, the Cu2O superparticles with an assembly structure are demonstrated to undergo complicated structure evolution under electrochemical reduction condition, enabling highly selective CO2-to-C2+ products conversion in electrocatalysis. As revealed by electron microscopic characterization together with in situ X-ray absorption spectroscopy and Raman spectroscopy, the building blocks inside the superparticle fuse to generate numerous grain boundaries while those in the outer shell detach to form nanogap structures that can efficiently confine OH- to induce high local pH. Such a combination of unique structural features with local reaction environment offers two important factors for facilitating C-C coupling. Consequently, the Cu2O superparticle-derived catalyst achieves high faradaic efficiencies of 53.2% for C2H4 and 74.2% for C2+ products, surpassing the performance of geometrically simpler Cu2O cube-derived catalyst and most reported Cu electrocatalysts under comparable conditions. This work provides insights for rationally designing highly selective CO2 reduction electrocatalysts by controlling structural reconstruction.

Automated summary

Structural reconstruction is a common process observed for Cu-based catalysts in electrochemical CO2 reduction. This work demonstrates that Cu2O superparticles with an assembly structure undergo complicated structure evolution under electrochemical reduction condition, enabling highly selective CO2-to-C2+ products conversion. The combination of unique structural features and local reaction environment facilitates C-C coupling.