Relocation of Cu2O(110)-Ag Bimetallic Catalyst during CO2 Reduction for Multicarbon Production

Abstract

The electrochemical CO2 reduction reaction (ECR) directly converts CO2 into small organic molecules using copper oxide (Cu2O) catalysts that function according to various mechanisms. Most focus on {111} or {100} facets, with relatively less focus on {110} facets. Herein, we first applied an electrodeposited Cu2O(110) crystalline-based silver (Ag) catalyst to form key intermediate species (CH3CHO) from the reactants and produce C2+ molecules via CO2 electroreduction. The initial structure of Cu2O(110)-Ag was revealed by microscopic analysis. During the ECR, Cu2O(110) was reduced and relocated on the catalyst surface, changing its morphology from a round to a snowflake shape. This increased the Ag-Cu interfacial active surface area on Cu2O(110)-Ag. Due to structural changes during the ECR, the production rate of C2+ products on Cu2O(110)-Ag was 125.01 µmol h-1 over a large geometric area. This study provides insight into the importance of catalyst design that could evolve C2-4 chemicals in the ECR industry.