Cu–O geometric coordination induced facet evolution of derived Cu catalysts for efficient CO2 electroreduction
摘要
Oxide-derived copper (OD-Cu) is a promising catalyst for the efficient production of C2+ products in the electrocatalytic CO2 reduction reaction. However, the reconstruction processes for the formation of OD-Cu are poorly understood, and the effects of catalyst precursors on performance are not yet clear, which hinder the rational construction of efficient catalysts for the production of C2+ products. In this work, we propose a strategy of “framework-dissolution” to introduce inert elements to construct different framework structures for Cu–O geometrical coordination modulation. In situ X-ray diffraction and Raman characterizations reveal the effect of different Cu–O geometric coordination on the OD-Cu reconstruction process and the regulation mechanism of the crystal facets. The results demonstrate that OD-Cu exhibits different (200)/(111) facet ratios, with the OD-Cut (200) facet dominating. The catalytic performance of OD-Cut dominated by Cu (200) reaches 75.1% Faradaic efficiency (FEC2+) with a partial current density of −187.8 mA cm−2. Theoretical calculations indicate that the OD-Cut derived from tetrahedra Cu–O geometric coordination is dominated by the (200) facet, which is favorable to promote the production of C2+ in CO2RR. This work not only fundamentally reveals the structural transformation of electrocatalysts with different Cu–O geometric coordination during the reaction process, but also contributes to the rational design of high-efficiency and low-cost catalysts.