Surface Adsorbed Hydroxyl: A Double-Edged Sword in Electrochemical CO2 Reduction over Oxide-Derived Copper

Oxide-derived Cu (OD−Cu) featured with surface located sub-20 nm nanoparticles (NPs) created via surface structure reconstruction was developed for electrochemical CO₂ reduction (ECO₂RR). With surface adsorbed hydroxyls (OH_ad) identified during ECO₂RR, it is realized that OH_ad, sterically confined and adsorbed at OD−Cu by surface located sub-20 nm NPs, should be determinative to the multi-carbon (C₂) product selectivity. In situ spectral investigations and theoretical calculations reveal that OH_ad favors the adsorption of low-frequency *CO with weak C≡O bonds and strengthens the *CO binding at OD−Cu surface, promoting *CO dimerization and then selective C₂ production. However, excessive OH_ad would inhibit selective C₂ production by occupying active sites and facilitating competitive H₂ evolution. In a flow cell, stable C₂ production with high selectivity of ∼60 % at −200 mA cm⁻² could be achieved over OD−Cu, with adsorption of OH_ad well steered in the fast flowing electrolyte.     

Redox Replacement of Silver on MOF-Derived Cu/C Nanoparticles on Gas Diffusion Electrodes for Electrocatalytic CO2 Reduction

Bimetallic tandem catalysts have emerged as a promising strategy to locally increase the CO flux during electrochemical CO₂ reduction, so as to maximize the rate of conversion to C−C-coupled products. Considering this, a novel Cu/C−Ag nanostructured catalyst has been prepared by a redox replacement process, in which the ratio of the two metals can be tuned by the replacement time. An optimum Cu/Ag composition with similarly sized particles showed the highest CO₂ conversion to C₂₊ products compared to non-Ag-modified gas-diffusion electrodes. Gas chromatography and in-situ Raman measurements in a CO₂ gas diffusion cell suggest the formation of top-bound linear adsorbed *CO followed by consumption of CO in the successive cascade steps, as evidenced by the increasingνC−H bands. These findings suggest that two mechanisms operate simultaneously towards the production of HCO₂H and C−C-coupled products on the Cu/Ag bimetallic surface.     

Intermediates-induced CO2 Reduction Reaction Activity at Single-Atom M−N2 (M=Fe,Co, Ni) Sites

Single-atom M−N₂ (M=Fe, Co, Ni) catalysts exhibit high activity for CO₂ reduction reaction (CO₂RR). However, the CO₂RR mechanism and the origin of activity at the single-atom sites remain unclear, which hinders the development of single-atom M−N₂ catalysts. Here, using density functional theory calculations, we reveal intermediates-induced CO₂RR activity at the single-atom M−N₂ sites. At the M−N₂ sites, the asymmetric *O*CO configuration tends to split into *CO and *OH intermediates. Intermediates become part of the active moiety to form M−(CO)N₂ or M-(OH)N₂ sites, which optimizes the adsorption of intermediates on the M sites. The maximum free energy differences along the optimal CO₂RR pathway are 0.30, 0.54, and 0.28 eV for Fe−(OH)N₂, Co−(CO)N₂, and Ni−(OH)N₂ sites respectively, which is lower than those of Fe−N₂ (1.03 eV), Co−N₂ (1.24 eV) and Ni−N₂ (0.73 eV) sites. The intermediate modification can shift the d-band center of the spin-up (minority) state downward by regulating the charge distribution at the M sites, leading to less charge being accepted by the intermediates from the M sites. This work provides new insights into the understanding of the activity of single-atom M−N₂ sites.     

Transition Metal Nitrides as Promising Catalyst Supports for Tuning CO/H2 Syngas Production from Electrochemical CO2 Reduction

The electrochemical carbon dioxide reduction reaction (CO₂RR) to produce synthesis gas (syngas) with tunable CO/H₂ ratios has been studied by supporting Pd catalysts on transition metal nitride (TMN) substrates. Combining experimental measurements and density functional theory (DFT) calculations, Pd‐modified niobium nitride (Pd/NbN) is found to generate much higher CO and H₂ partial current densities and greater CO Faradaic efficiency than Pd‐modified vanadium nitride (Pd/VN) and commercial Pd/C catalysts. In‐situ X‐ray diffraction identifies the formation of PdH in Pd/NbN and Pd/C under CO₂RR conditions, whereas the Pd in Pd/VN is not fully transformed into the active PdH phase. DFT calculations show that the stabilized *HOCO and weakened *CO intermediates on PdH/NbN are critical to achieving higher CO₂RR activity. This work suggests that NbN is a promising substrate to modify Pd, resulting in an enhanced electrochemical conversion of CO₂ to syngas with a potential reduction in precious metal loading.     

Effect of Halide Anions on the Electroreduction of CO2 to C2H4: A Density Functional Theory Study**

The halide anions present in the electrolyte improve the Faradaic efficiencies (FEs) of the multi-hydrocarbon (C₂₊) products for the electrochemical reduction of CO₂ over copper (Cu) catalysts. However, the mechanism behind the increased yield of C₂₊ products with the addition of halide anions remains indistinct. In this study, we analysed the mechanism by investigating the electronic structures and computing the relative free energies of intermediates formed from CO₂ to C₂H₄ on the Cu (100) facet based on density functional theory (DFT) calculations. The results show that formyl *CHO from the hydrogenation reaction of the adsorbed *CO acts as the key intermediate, and the C−C coupling reaction occurs preferentially between *CHO and *CO with the formation of a *CHO-CO intermediate. We then propose a free-energy pathway of C₂H₄ formation. We find that the presence of halide anions significantly decreases the free energy of the *CHOCH intermediate, and enhances desorption of C₂H₄ in the order of I⁻>Cl⁻>Br⁻>F⁻. Lastly, the obtained results are rationalized through Bader charge analysis.     

Surface Water as an Initial Proton Source for the Electrochemical CO Reduction Reaction on Copper Surfaces

We have employed in situ electrochemical shell-isolated nanoparticle-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SHINERS) and density functional theory (DFT) calculations to study the CO reduction reaction (CORR) on Cu single-crystal surfaces under various conditions. Coadsorbed and structure-/potential-dependent surface species, including *CO, Cu−O_ad, and Cu−OH_ad, were identified using electrochemical spectroscopy and isotope labeling. The relative abundance of *OH follows a “volcano” trend with applied potentials in aqueous solutions, which is yet absent in absolute alcoholic solutions. Combined with DFT calculations, we propose that the surface H₂O can serve as a strong proton donor for the first protonation step in both the C₁ and C₂ pathways of CORR at various applied potentials in alkaline electrolytes, leaving adsorbed *OH on the surface. This work provides fresh insights into the initial protonation steps and identity of key interfacial intermediates formed during CORR on Cu surfaces.     

Enhancing CO2 Electroreduction to Methane with a Cobalt Phthalocyanine and Zinc–Nitrogen–Carbon Tandem Catalyst

Developing copper-free catalysts for CO₂ conversion into hydrocarbons and oxygenates is highly desirable for electrochemical CO₂ reduction reaction (CO₂RR). Herein, we report a cobalt phthalocyanine (CoPc) and zinc–nitrogen–carbon (Zn-N-C) tandem catalyst for CO₂RR to CH₄. This tandem catalyst shows a more than 100 times enhancement of the CH₄/CO production rate ratio compared with CoPc or Zn-N-C alone. Density functional theory (DFT) calculations and electrochemical CO reduction reaction results suggest that CO₂ is first reduced into CO over CoPc and then CO diffuses onto Zn-N-C for further conversion into CH₄ over Zn-N₄ site, decoupling complicated CO₂RR pathway on single active site into a two-step tandem reaction. Moreover, mechanistic analysis indicates that CoPc not only generates CO but also enhances the availability of *H over adjacent N sites in Zn-N₄, which is the key to achieve the high CH₄ production rate and understand the intriguing electrocatalytic behavior which is distinctive to copper-based tandem catalysts.     

Boosting the Proton-coupled Electron Transfer via Fe−P Atomic Pair for Enhanced Electrochemical CO2 Reduction

Single-atom catalysts exhibit superior CO₂-to-CO catalytic activity, but poor kinetics of proton-coupled electron transfer (PCET) steps still limit the overall performance toward the industrial scale. Here, we constructed a Fe−P atom paired catalyst onto nitrogen doped graphitic layer (Fe₁/PNG) to accelerate PCET step. Fe₁/PNG delivers an industrial CO current of 1 A with FE_CO over 90 % at 2.5 V in a membrane-electrode assembly, overperforming the CO current of Fe₁/NG by more than 300 %. We also decrypted the synergistic effects of the P atom in the Fe−P atom pair using operando techniques and density functional theory, revealing that the P atom provides additional adsorption sites for accelerating water dissociation, boosting the hydrogenation of CO₂, and enhancing the activity of CO₂ reduction. This atom-pair catalytic strategy can modulate multiple reactants and intermediates to break through the inherent limitations of single-atom catalysts.     

Electrochemical Conversion of CO2 to Syngas with Controllable CO/H2 Ratios over Co and Ni Single‐Atom Catalysts

The electrochemical CO₂ reduction reaction (CO₂RR) to yield synthesis gas (syngas, CO and H₂) has been considered as a promising method to realize the net reduction in CO₂ emission. However, it is challenging to balance the CO₂RR activity and the CO/H₂ ratio. To address this issue, nitrogen‐doped carbon supported single‐atom catalysts are designed as electrocatalysts to produce syngas from CO₂RR. While Co and Ni single‐atom catalysts are selective in producing H₂ and CO, respectively, electrocatalysts containing both Co and Ni show a high syngas evolution (total current >74 mA cm^?2) with CO/H₂ ratios (0.23–2.26) that are suitable for typical downstream thermochemical reactions. Density functional theory calculations provide insights into the key intermediates on Co and Ni single‐atom configurations for the H₂ and CO evolution. The results present a useful case on how non‐precious transition metal species can maintain high CO₂RR activity with tunable CO/H₂ ratios.     

Electrochemical Conversion of CO2 to Syngas with Controllable CO/H2 Ratios over Co and Ni Single-Atom Catalysts

The electrochemical CO₂ reduction reaction (CO₂RR) to yield synthesis gas (syngas, CO and H₂) has been considered as a promising method to realize the net reduction in CO₂ emission. However, it is challenging to balance the CO₂RR activity and the CO/H₂ ratio. To address this issue, nitrogen-doped carbon supported single-atom catalysts are designed as electrocatalysts to produce syngas from CO₂RR. While Co and Ni single-atom catalysts are selective in producing H₂ and CO, respectively, electrocatalysts containing both Co and Ni show a high syngas evolution (total current >74 mA cm⁻²) with CO/H₂ ratios (0.23–2.26) that are suitable for typical downstream thermochemical reactions. Density functional theory calculations provide insights into the key intermediates on Co and Ni single-atom configurations for the H₂ and CO evolution. The results present a useful case on how non-precious transition metal species can maintain high CO₂RR activity with tunable CO/H₂ ratios.     

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.     

Tuning C1/C2 Selectivity of CO2 Electrochemical Reduction over in-Situ Evolved CuO/SnO2 Heterostructure

Heterostructured oxides with versatile active sites, as a class of efficient catalysts for CO₂ electrochemical reduction (CO₂ER), are prone to undergo structure reconstruction under working conditions, thus bringing challenges to understanding the reaction mechanism and rationally designing catalysts. Herein, we for the first time elucidate the structural reconstruction of CuO/SnO₂ under electrochemical potentials and reveal the intrinsic relationship between CO₂ER product selectivity and the in situ evolved heterostructures. At −0.85 V_RHE, the CuO/SnO₂ evolves to Cu₂O/SnO₂ with high selectivity to HCOOH (Faradaic efficiency of 54.81 %). Mostly interestingly, it is reconstructed to Cu/SnO_2-x at −1.05 V_RHE with significantly improved Faradaic efficiency to ethanol of 39.8 %. In situ Raman spectra and density functional theory (DFT) calculations reveal that the synergetic absorption of *COOH and *CHOCO intermediates at the interface of Cu/SnO_2-x favors the formation of *CO and decreases the energy barrier of C−C coupling, leading to high selectivity to ethanol.     

Dual Metal Active Sites in an Ir1/FeOx Single-Atom Catalyst: A Redox Mechanism for the Water-Gas Shift Reaction

Herein, we report a theoretical and experimental study of the water-gas shift (WGS) reaction on Ir₁/FeO_x single-atom catalysts. Water dissociates to OH* on the Ir₁ single atom and H* on the first-neighbour O atom bonded with a Fe site. The adsorbed CO on Ir₁ reacts with another adjacent O atom to produce CO₂, yielding an oxygen vacancy (O_vac). Then, the formation of H₂ becomes feasible due to migration of H from adsorbed OH* toward Ir₁ and its subsequent reaction with another H*. The interaction of Ir₁ and the second-neighbouring Fe species demonstrates a new WGS pathway featured by electron transfer at the active site from Fe³⁺−O⋅⋅⋅Ir²⁺−O_vac to Fe²⁺−O_vac⋅⋅⋅Ir³⁺−O with the involvement of O_vac. The redox mechanism for WGS reaction through a dual metal active site (DMAS) is different from the conventional associative mechanism with the formation of formate or carboxyl intermediates. The proposed new reaction mechanism is corroborated by the experimental results with Ir₁/FeO_x for sequential production of CO₂ and H₂.     

Dual Metal Active Sites in an Ir1/FeOx Single‐Atom Catalyst: A Redox Mechanism for the Water‐Gas Shift Reaction

Herein, we report a theoretical and experimental study of the water‐gas shift (WGS) reaction on Ir₁/FeO_x single‐atom catalysts. Water dissociates to OH* on the Ir₁ single atom and H* on the first‐neighbour O atom bonded with a Fe site. The adsorbed CO on Ir₁ reacts with another adjacent O atom to produce CO₂, yielding an oxygen vacancy (O_vac). Then, the formation of H₂ becomes feasible due to migration of H from adsorbed OH* toward Ir₁ and its subsequent reaction with another H*. The interaction of Ir₁ and the second‐neighbouring Fe species demonstrates a new WGS pathway featured by electron transfer at the active site from Fe³⁺?O???Ir²⁺?O_vac to Fe²⁺?O_vac???Ir³⁺?O with the involvement of O_vac. The redox mechanism for WGS reaction through a dual metal active site (DMAS) is different from the conventional associative mechanism with the formation of formate or carboxyl intermediates. The proposed new reaction mechanism is corroborated by the experimental results with Ir₁/FeO_x for sequential production of CO₂ and H₂.     

Acidic Media Impedes Tandem Catalysis Reaction Pathways in Electrochemical CO2 Reduction

Electrochemical CO₂ reduction (CO₂R) in acidic media with Cu-based catalysts tends to suffer from lowered selectivity towards multicarbon products. This could in principle be mitigated using tandem catalysis, whereby the *CO coverage on Cu is increased by introducing a CO generating catalyst (e.g. Ag) in close proximity. Although this has seen significant success in neutral/alkaline media, here we report that such a strategy becomes impeded in acidic electrolyte. This was investigated through the co-reduction of ¹³CO₂/¹²CO mixtures using a series of Cu and CuAg catalysts. These experiments provide strong evidence for the occurrence of tandem catalysis in neutral media and its curtailment under acidic conditions. Density functional theory simulations suggest that the presence of H₃O⁺ weakens the *CO binding energy of Cu, preventing effective utilization of tandem-supplied CO. Our findings also provide other unanticipated insights into the tandem catalysis reaction pathway and important design considerations for effective CO₂R in acidic media.     

Why heterogeneous single-atom catalysts preferentially produce CO in the electrochemical CO2 reduction reaction

Formate and CO are competing products in the two-electron CO₂ reduction reaction (2e CO₂RR), and they are produced via *OCHO and *COOH intermediates, respectively. However, the factors governing CO/formate selectivity remain elusive, especially for metal–carbon–nitrogen (M–N–C) single-atom catalysts (SACs), most of which produce CO as their main product. Herein, we show computationally that the selectivity of M–N–C SACs is intrinsically associated with the CO₂ adsorption mode by using bismuth (Bi) nanosheets and the Bi–N–C SAC as model catalysts. According to our results, the Bi–N–C SAC exhibits a strong thermodynamic preference toward *OCHO, but under working potentials, CO₂ is preferentially chemisorbed first due to a charge accumulation effect, and subsequent protonation of chemisorbed CO₂ to *COOH is kinetically much more favorable than formation of *OCHO. Consequently, the Bi–N–C SAC preferentially produces CO rather than formate. In contrast, the physisorption preference of CO₂ on Bi nanosheets contributes to high formate selectivity. Remarkably, this CO₂ adsorption-based mechanism also applies to other typical M–N–C SACs. This work not only resolves a long-standing puzzle in M–N–C SACs, but also presents simple, solid criteria (i.e., CO₂ adsorption modes) for indicating CO/formate selectivity, which help strategic development of high-performance CO₂RR catalysts.

This report discloses a nontrivial role of the CO₂ adsorption mode in governing the CO/formate selectivity of single-atom catalysts towards two-electron CO₂ reduction.     

Tandem Synergistic Effect of Cu-In Dual Sites Confined on the Edge of Monolayer CuInP2S6 toward Selective Photoreduction of CO2 into Multi-Carbon Solar Fuels

One-unit-cell, single-crystal, hexagonal CuInP₂S₆ atomically thin sheets of≈0.81 nm in thickness was successfully synthesized for photocatalytic reduction of CO₂. Exciting ethene (C₂H₄) as the main product was dominantly generated with the yield-based selectivity reaching ≈56.4 %, and the electron-based selectivity as high as ≈74.6 %. The tandem synergistic effect of charge-enriched Cu−In dual sites confined on the lateral edge of the CuInP₂S₆ monolayer (ML) is mainly responsible for efficient conversion and high selectivity of the C₂H₄ product as the basal surface site of the ML, exposing S atoms, can not derive the CO₂ photoreduction due to the high energy barrier for the proton-coupled electron transfer of CO₂ into *COOH. The marginal In site of the ML preeminently targets CO₂ conversion to *CO under light illumination, and the *CO then migrates to the neighbor Cu sites for the subsequent C−C coupling reaction into C₂H₄ with thermodynamic and kinetic feasibility. Moreover, ultrathin structure of the ML also allows to shorten the transfer distance of charge carriers from the interior onto the surface, thus inhibiting electron-hole recombination and enabling more electrons to survive and accumulate on the exposed active sites for CO₂ reduction.     

Proton Shuttling by Polyaniline of High Brønsted Basicity for Improved Electrocatalytic Ethylene Production from CO2

Hybrid organic/inorganic composites with the organic phase tailored to modulate local chemical environment at the Cu surface arise as an enchanting category of catalysts for electrocatalytic CO₂ reduction reaction (CO₂RR). A fundamental understanding on how the organics of different functionality, polarity, and hydrophobicity affect the reaction path is, however, still lacking to guide rational catalyst design. Herein, polypyrrole (PPy) and polyaniline (PANI) manifesting different Brønsted basicity are compared for their regulatory roles on the CO₂RR pathways regarding *CO coverage, proton source and interfacial polarity. Concerted efforts from in situ IR, Raman and operando modelling unveil that at the PPy/Cu interface with limited *CO coverage, hydridic *H produced by the Volmer step favors the carbon hydrogenation of *CO to form *CHO through a Tafel process; Whereas at the PANI/Cu interface with concentrated CO₂ and high *CO coverage, protonic H⁺ shuttled through the benzenoid -NH- protonates the oxygen of *CO, yielding *COH for asymmetric coupling with nearby *CO to form *OCCOH under favored energetics. As a result of the tailored chemical environment, the restructured PANI/Cu composite demonstrates a high partial current density of 0.41 A cm⁻² at a maximal Faraday efficiency of 67.5 % for ethylene production, ranking among states of the art.     

The in situ study of surface species and structures of oxide-derived copper catalysts for electrochemical CO2 reduction

Oxide-derived copper (OD-Cu) has been discovered to be an effective catalyst for the electroreduction of CO₂ to C2+ products. The structure of OD-Cu and its surface species during the reaction process are interesting topics, which have not yet been clearly discussed. Herein, in situ surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS), operando X-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS), and ¹⁸O isotope labeling experiments were employed to investigate the surface species and structures of OD-Cu catalysts during CO₂ electroreduction. It was found that the OD-Cu catalysts were reduced to metallic Cu(0) in the reaction. CuO_x species existed on the catalyst surfaces during the CO₂RR, which resulted from the adsorption of preliminary intermediates (such as *CO₂ and *OCO⁻) on Cu instead of on the active sites of the catalyst. It was also found that abundant interfaces can be produced on OD-Cu, which can provide heterogeneous CO adsorption sites (strong binding sites and weak binding sites), leading to outstanding performance for obtaining C2+ products. The Faradaic efficiency (FE) for C2+ products reached as high as 83.8% with a current density of 341.5 mA cm⁻² at −0.9 V vs. RHE.

CuO_x species were shown to exist on OD-Cu during the CO₂RR, which resulted from the adsorption of preliminary intermediates (such as *CO₂ and *OCO⁻) on Cu instead of on the active sites of the catalyst.