Crystal‐Plane‐Controlled Selectivity of Cu2O Catalysts in Propylene Oxidation with Molecular Oxygen

The selective oxidation of propylene with O₂ to propylene oxide and acrolein is of great interest and importance. We report the crystal‐plane‐controlled selectivity of uniform capping‐ligand‐free Cu₂O octahedra, cubes, and rhombic dodecahedra in catalyzing propylene oxidation with O₂: Cu₂O octahedra exposing {111} crystal planes are most selective for acrolein; Cu₂O cubes exposing {100} crystal planes are most selective for CO₂; Cu₂O rhombic dodecahedra exposing {110} crystal planes are most selective for propylene oxide. One‐coordinated Cu on Cu₂O(111), three‐coordinated O on Cu₂O(110), and two‐coordinated O on Cu₂O(100) were identified as the catalytically active sites for the production of acrolein, propylene oxide, and CO₂, respectively. These results reveal that crystal‐plane engineering of oxide catalysts could be a useful strategy for developing selective catalysts and for gaining fundamental understanding of complex heterogeneous catalytic reactions at the molecular level.     

Sulfur Changes the Electrochemical CO2 Reduction Pathway over Cu Electrocatalysts

Electrochemical CO₂ reduction to value-added chemicals or fuels offers a promising approach to reduce carbon emissions and alleviate energy shortage. Cu-based electrocatalysts have been widely reported as capable of reducing CO₂ to produce a variety of multicarbon products (e.g., ethylene and ethanol). In this work, we develop sulfur-doped Cu₂O electrocatalysts, which instead can electrochemically reduce CO₂ to almost exclusively formate. We show that a dynamic equilibrium of S exists at the Cu₂O-electrolyte interface, and S-doped Cu₂O undergoes in situ surface reconstruction to generate active S-adsorbed metallic Cu sites during the CO₂ reduction reaction (CO₂RR). Density functional theory (DFT) calculations together with in situ infrared absorption spectroscopy measurements show that the S-adsorbed metallic Cu surface can not only promote the formation of the *OCHO intermediate but also greatly suppress *H and *COOH adsorption, thus facilitating CO₂-to-formate conversion during the electrochemical CO₂RR.     

CO\begin{document}$ _{2} $\end{document} Reduction on Metal-Doped SnO\begin{document}$ _{2} $\end{document}(110) Surface Catalysts: Manipulating the Product by Changing the Ratio of Sn:O

The electrocatalytic carbon dioxide reduction reaction (CO₂RR) producing HCOOH and CO is one of the most promising approaches for storing renewable electricity as chemical energy in fuels. SnO₂ is a good catalyst for CO₂-to-HCOOH or CO₂-to-CO conversion, with different crystal planes participating the catalytic process. Among them, (110) surface SnO₂ is very stable and easy to synthesisze. By changing the ratio of Sn: O for SnO₂(110), we have two typical SnO₂ thin films: fully oxidized (stoichiometric) and partially reduced. In this work, we are concerned with different metals (Fe, Co, Ni, Cu, Ru, Rh, Pd, Ag, Os, Ir, Pt, and Au)-doped SnO₂(110) with different activity and selectivity for CO₂RR. All these changes are manipulated by adjusting the ratio of Sn: O in (110) surface. The results show that stochiometric and reduced Cu/Ag doped SnO₂(110) have different selectivity for CO₂RR. More specifically, stochiometric Cu/Ag-doped SnO₂(110) tends to generate CO(g). Meanwhile, the reduced surface tends to generate HCOOH(g). Moreover, we also considered the competitive hydrogen evolution reaction (HER). The catalysts SnO₂(110) doped by Ru, Rh, Pd, Os, Ir, and Pt have high activity for HER, and others are good catalysts for CO₂RR.     

Electrochemically Driven Cation Exchange Enables the Rational Design of Active CO2 Reduction Electrocatalysts

Metal oxides or sulfides are considered to be one of the most promising CO₂ reduction reaction (CO₂RR) precatalysts, owing to their electrochemical conversion in situ into highly active electrocatalytic species. However, further improvement of the performance requires new tools to gain fine control over the composition of the active species and its structural features [e.g., grain boundaries (GBs) and undercoordinated sites (USs)], directly from a predesigned template material. Herein, we describe a novel electrochemically driven cation exchange (ED‐CE) method that enables the conversion of a predesigned CoS₂ template into a CO₂RR catalyst, Cu₂S. By means of ED‐CE, the final Cu₂S catalyst inherits the original 3 D morphology of CoS₂, and preserves its high density of GBs. Additionally, the catalyst's phase structure, composition, and density of USs were precisely tuned, thus enabling rational design of active CO₂RR sites. The obtained Cu₂S catalyst achieved a CO₂‐to‐formate Faradaic efficiency of over 87 % and a record high activity (among reported Cu‐based catalysts). Hence, this study opens the way for utilization of ED‐CE reactions to design advanced electrocatalysts.     

Highly Selective CO2 Electroreduction to CH4 by In Situ Generated Cu2O Single-Type Sites on a Conductive MOF: Stabilizing Key Intermediates with Hydrogen Bonding

It is still a great challenge to achieve high selectivity of CH₄ in CO₂ electroreduction reactions (CO₂RR) because of the similar reduction potentials of possible products and the sluggish kinetics for CO₂ activation. Stabilizing key reaction intermediates by single type of active sites supported on porous conductive material is crucial to achieve high selectivity for single product such as CH₄. Here, Cu₂O(111) quantum dots with an average size of 3.5 nm are in situ synthesized on a porous conductive copper-based metal–organic framework (CuHHTP), exhibiting high selectivity of 73 % towards CH₄ with partial current density of 10.8 mA cm⁻² at −1.4 V vs. RHE (reversible hydrogen electrode) in CO₂RR. Operando infrared spectroscopy and DFT calculations reveal that the key intermediates (such as *CH₂O and *OCH₃) involved in the pathway of CH₄ formation are stabilized by the single active Cu₂O(111) and hydrogen bonding, thus generating CH₄ instead of CO.     

Designs of Tandem Catalysts and Cascade Catalytic Systems for CO2 Upgrading

Upgrading CO₂ into multi-carbon (C2+) compounds through the CO₂ reduction reaction (CO₂RR) offers a practical approach to mitigate atmospheric CO₂ while simultaneously producing high value chemicals. The reaction pathways for C2+ production involve multi-step proton-coupled electron transfer (PCET) and C−C coupling processes. By increasing the surface coverage of adsorbed protons (*H_ad) and *CO intermediates, the reaction kinetics of PCET and C−C coupling can be accelerated, thereby promoting C2+ production. However, *H_ad and *CO are competitively adsorbed intermediates on monocomponent catalysts, making it difficult to break the linear scaling relationship between the adsorption energies of the *H_ad/*CO intermediate. Recently, tandem catalysts consisting of multicomponents have been developed to improve the surface coverage of *H_ad or *CO by enhancing water dissociation or CO₂-to-CO production on auxiliary sites. In this context, we provide a comprehensive overview of the design principles of tandem catalysts based on reaction pathways for C2+ products. Moreover, the development of cascade CO₂RR catalytic systems that integrate CO₂RR with downstream catalysis has expanded the range of potential CO₂ upgrading products. Therefore, we also discuss recent advancements in cascade CO₂RR catalytic systems, highlighting the challenges and perspectives in these systems.     

Unexpected high selectivity for acetate formation from CO2 reduction with copper based 2D hybrid catalysts at ultralow potentials

Copper-based catalysts are efficient for CO₂ reduction affording commodity chemicals. However, Cu(i) active species are easily reduced to Cu(0) during the CO₂RR, leading to a rapid decay of catalytic performance. Herein, we report a hybrid-catalyst that firmly anchors 2D-Cu metallic dots on F-doped Cu_xO nanoplates (Cu_xOF), synthesized by electrochemical-transformation under the same conditions as the targeted CO₂RR. The as-prepared Cu/Cu_xOF hybrid showed unusual catalytic activity towards the CO₂RR for CH₃COO⁻ generation, with a high FE of 27% at extremely low potentials. The combined experimental and theoretical results show that nanoscale hybridization engenders an effective s,p-d coupling in Cu/Cu_xOF, raising the d-band center of Cu and thus enhancing electroactivity and selectivity for the acetate formation. This work highlights the use of electronic interactions to bias a hybrid catalyst towards a particular pathway, which is critical for tuning the activity and selectivity of copper-based catalysts for the CO₂RR.

A two-dimensional (2D) copper hybrid catalyst (Cu/Cu_xOF) composed of metallic Cu well dispersed on 2D F-doped Cu_xO nanoplates (Cu_xOF) is reported, which shows high catalytic activity toward the CO₂RR for acetate generation.     

Facet‐Dependent Catalytic Activity of Cu2O Nanocrystals in the One‐Pot Synthesis of 1,2,3‐Triazoles by Multicomponent Click Reactions

We report the highly facet‐dependent catalytic activity of Cu₂O nanocubes, octahedra, and rhombic dodecahedra for the multicomponent direct synthesis of 1,2,3‐triazoles from the reaction of alkynes, organic halides, and NaN₃. The catalytic activities of clean surfactant‐removed Cu₂O nanocrystals with the same total surface area were compared. Rhombic dodecahedral Cu₂O nanocrystals bounded by {110} facets were much more catalytically active than Cu₂O octahedra exposing {111} facets, whereas Cu₂O nanocubes displayed the slowest catalytic activity. The superior catalytic activity of Cu₂O rhombic dodecahedra is attributed to the fully exposed surface Cu atoms on the {110} facet. A large series of 1,4‐disubstituted 1,2,3‐triazoles have been synthesized in excellent yields with high regioselectivity under green conditions by using these rhombic dodecahedral Cu₂O catalysts, including the synthesis of rufinamide, an antiepileptic drug, demonstrating the potential of these nanocrystals as promising heterogeneous catalysts for other important coupling reactions.     

Copper-Sulfur-Nitrogen Cluster Providing a Local Proton for Efficient Carbon Dioxide Photoreduction

Atomically precise Cu clusters are highly desirable as catalysts for CO₂ reduction reaction (CO₂RR), and they provide an appropriate model platform for elaborating their structure–activity relationship. However, an efficient overall photocatalytic CO₂RR with H₂O using assembled Cu-cluster aggregates as single component photocatalyst has not been reported. Herein, we report a stable crystalline Cu−S−N cluster photocatalyst with local protonated N−H groups (denoted as Cu₆−NH ). The catalyst exhibits suitable photocatalytic redox potentials, high structural stability, active catalytic species, and a narrow band gap, which account for its outstanding photocatalytic CO₂RR performance under visible light, with ≈100 % selectivity for CO evolution. Remarkably, systematic isostructural Cu-cluster control experiments, in situ infrared spectroscopy, and density functional theory calculations revealed that the protonated pyrimidine N atoms in the Cu₆−NH cluster act as a proton relay station, providing a local proton during the photocatalytic CO₂RR. This efficiently lowers the energy barrier for the formation of the *COOH intermediate, which is the rate-limiting step, efficiently enhancing the photocatalytic performance. This work lays the foundation for the development of atomically precise metal-cluster-based photocatalysts.     

Selective CO2 Electroreduction to Ethylene and Multicarbon Alcohols via Electrolyte‐Driven Nanostructuring

Production of multicarbon products (C₂₊) from CO₂ electroreduction reaction (CO₂RR) is highly desirable for storing renewable energy and reducing carbon emission. The electrochemical synthesis of CO₂RR catalysts that are highly selective for C₂₊ products via electrolyte‐driven nanostructuring is presented. Nanostructured Cu catalysts synthesized in the presence of specific anions selectively convert CO₂ into ethylene and multicarbon alcohols in aqueous 0.1 m KHCO₃ solution, with the iodine‐modified catalyst displaying the highest Faradaic efficiency of 80 % and a partial geometric current density of ca. 31.2 mA cm^?2 for C₂₊ products at ?0.9 V vs. RHE. Operando X‐ray absorption spectroscopy and quasi in situ X‐ray photoelectron spectroscopy measurements revealed that the high C₂₊ selectivity of these nanostructured Cu catalysts can be attributed to the highly roughened surface morphology induced by the synthesis, presence of subsurface oxygen and Cu⁺ species, and the adsorbed halides.     

CO Oxidation on Cu/MgO-SiO2 Sol-Gel Derived Catalysts

Sol-gel Cu//MgOSiO₂ catalysts were prepared gelling tetraethoxysilane (TEOS), magnesium ethoxide and copper acetylacetonate at pH 3 and pH 9. The catalysts shown specific surface areas ca. 500 m²/g and 140 m²/g for pH 9 and pH 3 preparations respectively. Si(OH) and Si(OH)₂ hydroxy groups were observed by MAS-RMN spectroscopy in both preparations. CO₂-TPD and NH₃-TPD desorption thermograms showed that acid and basic sites were formed on the catalysts surface. It has been found that the catalysts having the highest density of basic sites were the catalysts showing the highest activity for the CO oxidation. It is proposed that the catalytic activity depends of the relative Cu⁼¹/Cu⁼² stability given by the support acidity.     

Positive Valent Metal Sites in Electrochemical CO2 Reduction Reaction

The discovery of high-performance catalysts for the electrochemical CO₂ reduction reaction ( CO₂RR) has faced an enormous challenge for years. The lack of cognition about the surface active structures or centers of catalysts in complex conditions limits the development of advanced catalysts for CO₂RR. Recently, the positive valent metal sites (PVMS) are demonstrated as a kind of potential active sites, which can facilitate carbon dioxide (CO₂) activation and conversation but are always unstable under reduction potentials. Many advanced technologies in theory and experiment have been utilized to understand and develop excellent catalysts with PVMS for CO₂RR. Here, we present an introduction of some typical catalysts with PVMS in CO₂RR and give some understanding of the activity and stability for these related catalysts.     

CO2 Reduction Mechanism on the Cu2O(110) Surface: A First-Principles Study

Cu₂O is an attractive catalyst for the selective reduction of CO₂ to methanol. However, the mechanism of the reaction and the role of the Cu species in different oxidation states are not well understood yet. In this work, by first-principles calculations, we investigate the mechanism of the reaction on the Cu₂O(110) surface, which is the most selective for methanol, in different degrees of reduction: ideal surface, slightly reduced surface (SRS), and partially reduced surface (PRS). The most favorable reaction pathways on the three surfaces were identified. We found that Cu(I) on the ideal surface is not capable of chemisorbing CO₂, but surface oxygen serves as the active site which selectively converts CO₂ to CH₃OH with a limiting potential of −0.77 V. The Cu(0) on the SRS and PRS promotes the adsorption and reduction of CO₂, while the removal of the residue O* becomes potential/rate limiting with a more negative limiting potential than the ideal surface. The SRS is selective to methanol while the PRS becomes selective to methane. The result suggests that the key to high methanol selectivity is to avoid the reduction of Cu(I), which provides a new strategy for the design of more efficient catalysts for selective CO₂ reduction to methanol.     

Regulating Efficient and Selective Single-atom Catalysts for Electrocatalytic CO2 Reduction

Anchoring transition metal (TM) atoms on suitable substrates to form single-atom catalysts (SACs) is a novel approach to constructing electrocatalysts. Graphdiyne with sp−sp² hybridized carbon atoms and uniformly distributed pores have been considered as a potential carbon material for supporting metal atoms in a variety of catalytic processes. Herein, density functional theory (DFT) calculations were performed to study the single TM atom anchoring on graphdiyne (TM₁−GDY, TM=Sc, Ti, V, Cr, Mn, Co and Cu) as the catalysts for CO₂ reduction. After anchoring metal atoms on GDY, the catalytic activity of TM₁−GDY (TM=Mn, Co and Cu) for CO₂ reduction reaction (CO₂RR) are significantly improved comparing with the pristine GDY. Among the studied TM₁−GDY, Cu₁−GDY shows excellent electrocatalytic activity for CO₂ reduction for which the product is HCOOH and the limiting potential (U_L) is −0.16 V. Mn₁−GDY and Co₁−GDY exhibit superior catalytic selectivity for CO₂ reduction to CH₄ with U_L of −0.62 and −0.34 V, respectively. The hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) by TM₁−GDY (TM=Mn, Co and Cu) occurs on carbon atoms, while the active sites of CO₂RR are the transition metal atoms . The present work is expected to provide a solid theoretical basis for CO₂ conversion into valuable hydrocarbons.     

Coordinating the Edge Defects of Bismuth with Sulfur for Enhanced CO2 Electroreduction to Formate

Bismuth-based materials have been recognized as promising catalysts for the electrocatalytic CO₂ reduction reaction (ECO₂RR). However, they show poor selectivity due to competing hydrogen evolution reaction (HER). In this study, we have developed an edge defect modulation strategy for Bi by coordinating the edge defects of bismuth (Bi) with sulfur, to promote ECO₂RR selectivity and inhibit the competing HER. The prepared catalysts demonstrate excellent product selectivity, with a high HCOO⁻ Faraday efficiency of ≈95 % and an HCOO⁻ partial current of ≈250 mA cm⁻² under alkaline electrolytes. Density function theory calculations reveal that sulfur tends to bind to the Bi edge defects, reducing the coordination-unsaturated Bi sites (*H adsorption sites), and regulating the charge states of neighboring Bi sites to improve *OCHO adsorption. This work deepens our understanding of ECO₂RR mechanism on bismuth-based catalysts, guiding for the design of advanced ECO₂RR catalysts.     

Selective CO2 Reduction to Ethylene Mediated by Adaptive Small-molecule Engineering of Copper-based Electrocatalysts

Electrochemical CO₂ reduction reaction (CO₂RR) over Cu catalysts exhibits enormous potential for efficiently converting CO₂ to ethylene (C₂H₄). However, achieving high C₂H₄ selectivity remains a considerable challenge due to the propensity of Cu catalysts to undergo structural reconstruction during CO₂RR. Herein, we report an in situ molecule modification strategy that involves tannic acid (TA) molecules adaptive regulating the reconstruction of a Cu-based material to a pathway that facilitates CO₂ reduction to C₂H₄ products. An excellent Faraday efficiency (FE) of 63.6 % on C₂H₄ with a current density of 497.2 mA cm⁻² in flow cell was achieved, about 6.5 times higher than the pristine Cu catalyst which mainly produce CH₄. The in situ X-ray absorption spectroscopy and Raman studies reveal that the hydroxyl group in TA stabilizes Cu^δ+ during the CO₂RR. Furthermore, theoretical calculations demonstrate that the Cu^δ+/Cu⁰ interfaces lower the activation energy barrier for *CO dimerization, and hydroxyl species stabilize the *COH intermediate via hydrogen bonding, thereby promoting C₂H₄ production. Such molecule engineering modulated electronic structure provides a promising strategy to achieve highly selective CO₂ reduction to value-added chemicals.     

Plasma-assisted oxidation of Cu(100) and Cu(111)

Oxidized copper surfaces have attracted significant attention in recent years due to their unique catalytic properties, including their enhanced hydrocarbon selectivity during the electrochemical reduction of CO₂. Although oxygen plasma has been used to create highly active copper oxide electrodes for CO₂RR, how such treatment alters the copper surface is still poorly understood. Here, we study the oxidation of Cu(100) and Cu(111) surfaces by sequential exposure to a low-pressure oxygen plasma at room temperature. We used scanning tunnelling microscopy (STM), low energy electron microscopy (LEEM), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), near edge X-ray absorption fine structure spectroscopy (NEXAFS) and low energy electron diffraction (LEED) for the comprehensive characterization of the resulting oxide films. O₂-plasma exposure initially induces the growth of 3-dimensional oxide islands surrounded by an O-covered Cu surface. With ongoing plasma exposure, the islands coalesce and form a closed oxide film. Utilizing spectroscopy, we traced the evolution of metallic Cu, Cu₂O and CuO species upon oxygen plasma exposure and found a dependence of the surface structure and chemical state on the substrate''s orientation. On Cu(100) the oxide islands grow with a lower rate than on the (111) surface. Furthermore, while on Cu(100) only Cu₂O is formed during the initial growth phase, both Cu₂O and CuO species are simultaneously generated on Cu(111). Finally, prolonged oxygen plasma exposure results in a sandwiched film structure with CuO at the surface and Cu₂O at the interface to the metallic support. A stable CuO(111) surface orientation is identified in both cases, aligned to the Cu(111) support, but with two coexisting rotational domains on Cu(100). These findings illustrate the possibility of tailoring the oxidation state, structure and morphology of metallic surfaces for a wide range of applications through oxygen plasma treatments.

A low-pressure oxygen plasma oxidized Cu(100) and Cu(111) surfaces at room temperature. The time-dependent evolution of surface structure and chemical composition is reported in detail for a range of exposure times up to 30 min.     

Size-Dependent Nickel-Based Electrocatalysts for Selective CO2 Reduction

Closing the anthropogenic carbon cycle by converting CO₂ into reusable chemicals is an attractive solution to mitigate rising concentrations of CO₂ in the atmosphere. Herein, we prepared Ni metal catalysts ranging in size from single atoms to over 100 nm and distributed them across N-doped carbon substrates which were obtained from converted zeolitic imidazolate frameworks (ZIF). The results show variance in CO₂ reduction performance with variance in Ni metal size. Ni single atoms demonstrate a superior Faradaic efficiency (FE) for CO selectivity (ca. 97 % at −0.8 V vs. RHE), while results for 4.1 nm Ni nanoparticles are slightly lower (ca. 93 %). Further increase the Ni particle size to 37.2 nm allows the H₂ evolution reaction (HER) to compete with the CO₂ reduction reaction (CO₂RR). The FE towards CO production decreases to under 30 % and HER efficiency increase to over 70 %. These results show a size-dependent CO₂ reduction for various sizes of Ni metal catalysts.     

Electrocatalytic Production of C3‐C4 Compounds by Conversion of CO2 on a Chloride‐Induced Bi‐Phasic Cu2O‐Cu Catalyst

Electrocatalytic conversion of carbon dioxide (CO₂) has recently received considerable attention as one of the most feasible CO₂ utilization techniques. In particular, copper and copper‐derived catalysts have exhibited the ability to produce a number of organic molecules from CO₂. Herein, we report a chloride (Cl)‐induced bi‐phasic cuprous oxide (Cu₂O) and metallic copper (Cu) electrode (Cu₂O_Cl) as an efficient catalyst for the formation of high‐carbon organic molecules by CO₂ conversion, and identify the origin of electroselectivity toward the formation of high‐carbon organic compounds. The Cu₂O_Cl electrocatalyst results in the preferential formation of multi‐carbon fuels, including n‐propanol and n‐butane C3–C4 compounds. We propose that the remarkable electrocatalytic conversion behavior is due to the favorable affinity between the reaction intermediates and the catalytic surface.     

Cu2O-Ag Tandem Catalysts for Selective Electrochemical Reduction of CO2 to C2 Products

The electrochemical carbon dioxide reduction reaction (CO₂RR) to C₂ chemicals has received great attention. Here, we report the cuprous oxide (Cu₂O) nanocubes cooperated with silver (Ag) nanoparticles via the replacement reaction for a synergetic CO₂RR. The Cu₂O-Ag tandem catalyst exhibits an impressive Faradaic efficiency (FE) of 72.85% for C₂ products with a partial current density of 243.32 mA·cm⁻². The electrochemical experiments and density functional theory (DFT) calculations reveal that the introduction of Ag improves the intermediate CO concentration on the catalyst surface and meanwhile reduces the C-C coupling reaction barrier energy, which is favorable for the synthesis of C₂ products.