Dynamic structure change of Cu nanoparticles on carbon supports for CO2 electro-reduction toward multicarbon products

Cu nanoparticles with different sizes, morphology, and surface structures exhibit distinct activity and selectivity toward CO2 reduction reaction, while the reactive sites and reaction mechanisms are very controversial in experiments. In this study, we demonstrate the dynamic structure change of Cu clusters on graphite-like carbon supports plays an important role in the multicarbon production by combining static calculations and ab-initio molecular dynamic simulations. The mobility of Cu clusters on graphite is attributed to the near-degenerate energies of various adsorption configurations, as the interaction between Cu atoms and surface C atoms is weaker than that of Cu-Cu bonds in the tight cluster form. Such structure change of Cu clusters leads to step-like irregular surface structures and appropriate interparticle distances, increasing the selectivity of multicarbon products by reducing the energy barriers of C-C coupling effectively. In contrast, the large ratio of edge and corner sites on Cu clusters is responsible for the increased catalytic activity and selectivity for CO and H-2 compared with Cu(100) surface, instead of hydrocarbon products like methane and ethylene. The detailed study reveals that the dynamic structure change of the catalysts results in roughened surface morphologies during catalytic reactions and plays an essential role in the selectivity of CO2 electro-reduction, which should be paid more attention for studies on the reaction mechanisms.

Automated summary

Cu nanoparticles with different sizes, morphology, and surface structures exhibit distinct activity and selectivity in CO2 reduction reaction. The study demonstrates that the dynamic structure change of Cu clusters on graphite-like carbon supports plays an important role in the production of multicarbon products. The study also reveals that the roughened surface morphologies resulting from the dynamic structure change of the catalysts play an essential role in the selectivity of CO2 electro-reduction.